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PELE AND HIIAKA 

A Myth From Hawaii 

By 
NATHANIEL Br EMERSON, A. M., M. D. 

HONOLULU, HAWAII 

Author of The Long Voyages of the Ancient Hawaiians, and of 

Unwritten Literature of Hawaii, Translator of 

David Malo's Hawaiian Antiquities 




PRINTED BY 

1915 






Copyright, 1915, by 
N. B. EMERSON. 



Published March, 1915. 

,JUy 9 1915^^^^ 



TO 

HER MAJESTY LILIUOKALANI 

AND 

HER BELOVED HAWAIIAN 

PEOPLE 




Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 



PREFACE 




►HE story of Pele and her sister Hiiaka stands at the 
fountain-head of Hawaiian myth and is the matrix 
from which the unwritten Hterature of Hawaii drew 
_ its Hfe-blood. The material for the elaboration of 
this story has, in part, been found in serial contributions to the 
Hawaiian newspapers during the last few decades ; in part, gath- 
ered by interviews with the men and women of the older regime, 
in whose memory it has been stored and, again, in part, it has 
been supplied by papers solicited from intelligent Hawaiians. 
The information contained in the notes has been extracted by 
viva voce appeal to Hawaiians themselves. These last two sour- 
ces of information will soon be no longer available. 

Merely as a story, this myth of Pele and her kindred may be 
deemed to have no compelling merit that should attract one to 
its reading. The cycle of world-myth already gathered from the 
rising to the setting of the sun, from the north pole to the south 
pole, is quite vast enough, and far in excess of the power of any 
one scholar to master and digest. It contains enough pretty 
stories, in all conscience, to satisfy the demands of the whole 
raft of storiologists and penny-a-liners, ever on the alert to cram 
the public with new sensations, without making it necessary to 
levy upon Hawaii for her little contribution. 

It is not from a disposition to pander to any such appetite that 
the writer has drudged through many long years in collecting and 
giving literary shape to the material herein presented. The peo- 
ple who settled the Hawaiian group of islands are recognized 
as having occupied a unique station, one so far removed from 
the center and vortex of Polynesian activity as to enable them 
to cast a highly important side-light on many of the problems 
yet unsolved, that are of interest to ethnologists and philologists 
and that still enshroud the Polynesian race. 

Hawaii rejoiced in a Kamehameha, who, with a strong hand, 
welded its discordant political elements into one body and made 
of it a nation. But it was denied a Homer capable of voicing 
its greatest epic in one song. The myth of the volcanic queen, 
like every other important Hawaiian myth, has been handled by 
many poets and raconteurs, each from his own point of view, 
influenced, no doubt, by local environment ; but there never stood 



VI Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

forth one singer with the supreme power to symphonize the jar- 
ring notes and combine them into one concordant whole. This 
fact is a tribute to the independent attitude of Hawaii's geo- 
graphical units as well as to its scattered minstrelsy. 

This book does not offer itself as a complete history of Pele; 
it does not even assume to present all the oli, mele, and pule that 
deal with the great name of Pele. There were important events 
in her life that will receive but incidental mention. Of such is 
the story of Pele's relations with the swine-god Kama-pua'a. As 
indicated in the title, the author confines his attention almost 
wholly to the story of Pele's relations with Prince Lohiau of 
Haena, in which the girl Hiiaka became involved as an accessory. 

It was inevitable that such a myth as that of Pele should draw 
to it and, like an ocean-reef, become the stranding ground of a 
great mass of flotsam and jetsam poetry and story. Especially 
was this true of those passional fragments of Hawaiian mele and 
oli, which, without this, would not easily have found a concrete 
object to which they might attach themselves. 

It matters not whether the poet-philosopher, deep pondering 
on the hot things of love, hit upon Pele as the most striking and 
appropriate character to serve his purpose and to wear his gar- 
ment of passionate song and story, or, whether his mind, working 
more objectively, took Nature's suggestion and came to realize 
that, in the wild play of the volcanic forces, he had exemplified 
before him a mighty parable of tempestuous love. Certain it is 
that the volcano was antecedent to the poet and his musings, 
and it seems more reasonable to suppose that from it came 
the first suggestion and that his mind, as by a flash of inspira- 
tion, began its subjective work as the result of what he saw 
going on before his eyes. 

The Hawaiian to whose memory was committed the keeping 
of an old time mele regarded it as a sacred trust, to be transmit- 
ted in its integrity; and he was inclined to look upon every dif- 
ferent and contradictory version of that mele as, in a sense, an 
infringement of his preserve, a desecration of that sacred thing 
which had been entrusted to him. It resulted from this that such 
a thing as a company of haku-mele (poets or song-makers) con- 
ferring together for the purpose of settling upon one authorita- 
tive version of a historic mele was an impossibility. 

It is a misfortune when the myth-cycle of any people or country 
is invaded for exploitation by that class of writers whose sole 
object is to pander, or cater — to use a softer term — to the public 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth VII 

taste for novelty and sensation, before that cycle has been can- 
vassed and reported upon by students who approach it in a 
truthful yet sympathetic spirit. In other words : plain exposition 
should come before sensational exploitation. To reverse the 
order would be as undesirable as to have Munchausen gain the 
ear of the public before Mungo Park, Livingston, Stanley, Cook, 
or Vancouver had blazed the way and taken their observations. 

Fortunately for Hawaii, the spirit of the times has set its face 
like a flint against this sort of sensation-mongering, and if a 
Munchausen were now to claim the public ear he would have 
the searchlight of scientific investigation turned upon him as 
pitilessly as it was done in the case of an alleged claim to the 
discovery of the north pole. 

It is a satisfaction to the author, after having accomplished 
his pioneer work of opening up a new domain, to bid the public 
enter in and enjoy the delicious lehua parks once claimed by the 
girl Hiiaka as her own; and he can assure them that there yet 
remain many coverts that are full of charm which are to this 
day unravaged by the fires of Pele. 

Thanks, many thanks, are due from the author — and from us 
all — to the men and women of Hawaiian birth whose tenacious 
memories have served as the custodians of the material herein 
set forth, but who have ungrudgingly made us welcome to these 
remainder biscuits of mythological song and story, which, but 
for them, would have been swallowed up in the grave, unvoiced 
and unrecorded. 

N. B. EMERSON. 




Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth IX 



INTRODUCTION 

CCORDING to Hawaiian myth, Pele, the volcanic 
fire-queen and the chief architect of the Hawaiian 
group, was a foreigner, born in the mystical land of 
Kuai-he-lani, a land not rooted and anchored to one 
spot, but that floated free like the Fata Morgana, and that showed 
itself at times to the eyes of mystics, poets and seers, a garden 
land, clad with the living glory of trees and habitations— a vision 
to warm the imagination. The region was known as Kahiki 
(Kukulu o Kahiki), a name that connotes Java and that is asso- 
ciated with the Asiatic cradle of the Polynesian race. 

Pele's mother was Haumea, a name that crops up as an ances- 
tor in the hoary antiquity of the Hawaiian people, and she was 
reputed to be the daughter of Kane-hoa-lani. 

Pele was ambitious from childhood and from the earliest age 
made it her practice to stick close to her mother's fireplace in 
company with the fire-keeper Lono-makua, ever watchful of 
his actions, studious of his methods — an apprenticeship well fit- 
ted to serve her in good stead such time as she was to become 
Hawaii's volcanic fire-queen. This conduct drew upon Pele the 
suspicion and illwill of her elder sister Na-maka-o-ka-ha'i, a sea- 
goddess, who, fathoming the latent ambition of Pele, could not 
fail to perceive that its attainment would result in great commo- 
tion and disturbance in their home-land. 

Her fears and prognostications proved true. Namaka, return- 
ing from one of her expeditions across the sea, found that Pele, 
taking advantage of her absence, had erupted a fiery deluge and 
smothered a portion of the home-land with aa. 

It would have gone hard with Pele ; but mother Haumea bade 
her take refuge in the fold (pola) of Ka-moho-aHi's malo. Now 
this elder brother of Pele was a deity of great power and author- 
ity, a terrible character, hedged about with tabus that restricted 
and made difficult the approach of his enemies. Such a refuge 
could only be temporary, and safety was to be assured only by 
Pele's removal from her home in the South land, and that meant 
flight. It was accomplished in the famed mythical canoe Honua- 
i-a-kea. 

The company was a distinguished one, including such godlike 
beings as Ka-moho-alii, Kane-apua, Kane-milo-hai and many 



X Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

other relations of Pele, the youngest, but not the least important, 
of whom was the girl Hiiaka, destined to be the heroine of the 
story here unfolded and of whom it was said that she was born 
into the world as a clot of blood out of the posterior fontanelle 
(nunoi) of her mother Plaumea, the other sisters having been 
delivered through the natural passage. 

The sailing course taken by Pele's company brought them to 
some point northwest of Hawaii, along that line of islets, reefs, 
and shoals which tail off from Hawaii as does the train of a 
comet from its nucleus. At Moku-papapa Pele located her bro- 
ther Kane-milo-hai, as if to hold the place for her or to build 
it up into fitness for human residence, for it was little more than 
a reef. Her next stop was at the little rock of Nihoa that lifts 
its head some eight hundred feet above the ocean. Here she 
made trial with the divining rod Paoa, but the result being un- 
favorable, she passed on to the insignificant islet of Lehua which 
clings like a limpet to the flank of Niihau. In spite of its small- 
ness and unfitness for residence, Pele was moved to crown the 
rock with a wreath of kau-no'a, while Hiiaka contributed a chap- 
let of lehua which she took from her own neck, thus christening 
it for all time. The poet details the itinerary of the voyage in 
the following graphic lines: 

Ke Kaao a Pele i Haawi ia Ka-moho-alii i ka 
Haalele ana I a Kahiki 

Ku makou e hele me ku'u mau pokil aloha, 

Ka aina a makou i ike ole ai malalo aku nei, 

A'e makou me ku'u poki'i, kau i ka wa'a ; 

No'iau ka hoe a Ka-moho-alii; 

A'ea'e, kau i ka nalu — 

He nalu haki kakala. 

He nalu e imi ana i ka aina e hiki aku ai. 

O Nihoa ka aina a makou i pae mua aku ai : 

Lele a'e nei makou, kau i uka o Nihoa. 

O ka hana no a ko'u poki'i, a Kane-apua, 

O ka hooili i ka ihu o ka wa'a a nou i ke kai : 

Waiho anei o Ka-moho-alii ia Kane-apua i uka o Nihoa. 

No'iau ka hoe a Ka-moho-alii 

A pae i ka aina i kapa ia o Lehua. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth XI 

translation 

Pele's Account to Kamohoalii of the Departure 
FROM Kahiki 

We stood to sail with my kindred beloved 

To an unknown land below the horizon ; 

We boarded — my kinsmen and I — our craft, 

Our pilot well skilled, Ka-moho-alii. 

Our craft o'ermounted and mastered the waves; 

The sea was rough and choppy, but the waves 

Bore us surely on to our destined shore — 

The rock Nihoa, the first land we touched ; 

Gladly we landed and climbed up its cliffs. 

Fault of the youngster, Kane-apua, 

He loaded the bow till it ducked in the waves ; 

Ka-moho-alii marooned the lad. 

Left the boy on the islet Nihoa 

And, pilot well skilled, he sailed away 

Till we found the land we christened Lehua. 

When they had crowned the desolate rock with song and 
wreath, Ka-moho-alii would have steered for Niihau, but Pele, 
in a spasm of tenderness that smiles like an oasis in her life, ex- 
claimed, "How I pity our Httle brother who journeyed with us 
till now !" At this Ka-moho-alii turned the prow of the canoe in 
the direction of Nihoa and they rescued Kane-apua from his 
seagirt prison. Let the poet tell the story: 

Hui (a) iho nei ka wa'a a Ka-moho-alii 

E kii ana i ko lakou pokii, ia Kane-apua, i Nihoa. 

Pili aku nei ka wa'a o Ka-moho-alii i uka nei o Nihoa, 

Kahea aku nei i ko lakou pokii, ia Kane-apua, 

E kau aku ma ka pola o ka wa'a. 

Hui iho nei ka ihu o ka wa'a o Ka-moho-alii — 

He wa'a e holo ana i Niihau, 

Kau aku nei o Ka-moho-alii i ka laau, he paoa, (b) 

ia) Hui, an elided form of hull, the I being dropped. 

(&) Paoa. One Hawaiian says this should be pahoa. (Paulo Hokii.) 

The Paoa mentioned in verse eight was a divining rod used to determine 
the suitability of any spot for Pele's excavations. The land must be proof 
against the entrance of sea water. It also served as a spade in excavating 
for a volcanic crater. 

When a suitable place was finally discovered on Hawaii, the Paoa staff 
was planted in Panaewa and became a living tree, multiplying itself until 
it was a forest. The writer's informant says that it is a tree known to 
the present generation of men. "I have seen sticks cut from it," said he, 
"but not the living tree itself." 



XII Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

E imi ana i ko lakou aina e noho ai, o Kauai : 

Aole na'e i loa'a. 

Kau mai la o Ka-moho-alii i ka laau, he paoa; 

O Ahu (c) ka aina. 

la ka ana iho nei o lakou i Alia-pa'akai, 

Aole na'e he aina. 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-moho-alii turned his canoe 

To rescue lad Kane from Nihoa. 

Anon the craft lies off Nihoa's coast; 

They shout to the lad, to Kane-apua, 

Come aboard, rest with us on the pola. (d) 

Ka-moho-alii turns now his prow. 

He will steer for the fertile Niihau. 

He sets out the wizard staff Paoa, 

To test if Kauai's to be their home; 

But they found it not there. 

Once more the captain sails on with the rod. 

To try if Oahu's the wished for land: 

They thrust in the staff at Salt Lake Crater, 

But that proved not the land of their promise. 

Arrived at Oahu, Ka-moho-alii, who still had Pele in his 
keeping, left the canoe in charge of Holoholo-kai and, with the 
rest of the party, continued the journey by land. The witchery of 
the Paoa was appealed to from time to time, as at Alia-pa'akai, 
Puowaena (Punchbowl Hill), Leahi (Diamond Head), and lastly 
at Makapu'u Point, but nowhere with a satisfactory response. 
(The words of Pele in the second verse of the kaao next to be 
given lead one to infer that she must for a time have entertained 
the thought that they had found the desired haven at Pele-ula — 
a small land-division within the limits of the present city of 
Honolulu.) Let the poet tell the story: 

Ke ku nei makou e imi kahi e noho ai 

A loa'a ma Pele-ula: 

O Kapo-ula-kina*u ka wahine; 

(o) O Ahu. The particle o is not yet joined to its substantive, as in 
Oahu, the form we now have. 

id) Pola, the raised platform in the waist of the canoe, a place of honor. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth XIII 

A loa'a i ka lae kapu o Maka-pu'u. 

Ilaila pau ke kuleana; 

Imi ia Kane-hoa-lani, 

A loa'a i ka lae o Maka-hana-loa. — 

He loa ka uka o Puna : 

Elua kaua i ke kapa hookahi. 

Akahi au a ike — haupu mau, walohia wale: 

E Kane-hoa-lani, e-e! 

E Kane-hoa-lani, e-e! 

Aloha kaua! 

Kau ka hoku hookahi, hele i ke ala loa! 

Aloha kama kuku kapa a ka wahine! 

He wahine lohiau, nana i ka makani ; 

He makani lohiau, haupu mai oloko! 

TRANSLATION 

We went to seek for a biding place. 

And found it, we thought, in Pele-ula — 

Dame Kapo — she of the red-pied robe — 

Found it in the sacred cape, Maka-pu'u; 

The limit that of our journey by land. 

We looked then for Kane-hoa-lani 

And found him at Maka-hana-loa. 

Far away are the uplands of Puna; 

One girdle still serves for you and for me. 

Never till now such yearning, such sadness! 

Where art thou, Kane-hoa-lani? 

O Father Kane, where art thou? 

Hail to thee, O Father, and hail to me! 

When rose the pilot-star we sailed away. 

Hail, girl who beats out tapa for women — 

The home-coming wife who watches the wind, 

The haunting wind that searches the house ! 

The survey of Oahu completed, and Kamoho-alii having re- 
sumed command of the canoe, Pele uttered her farewell and they 
voyaged on to the cluster of islands of which Maui is the center : 

Aloha, Oahu, e-e! 

E huli ana makou i ka aina mamua aku, 

Kahi a makou e noho ai. 



XIV Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

Farewell to thee, Oahu! 

We press on to lands beyond, 

In search of a homing place. 

Repeated trial with the divining rod, Paoa, made on the west- 
ern part of Maui as well as on the adjoining islands of Molokai 
and Lanai proving unsatisfactory, Pele moved on to the explora- 
tion of the noble form of Hale-a-ka-la that domes East Maui, with 
fine hope and promise of success. But here again she was dis- 
satisfied with the result. She had not yet delivered herself 
from the necessity of protection by her kinsman, Ka-moho-alii : 
"One girdle yet serves for you and for me," was the note that 
still rang out as a confession of dependence, in her song. 

While Pele was engaged in her operations in the crater of 
Hale-a-ka-la, her inveterate enemy Na-maka-o-ka-ha'i, who had 
trailed her all the way from Kahiki with the persistency of a 
sea-wolf, appeared in the offing, accompanied by a sea-dragon 
named Ha-ui. 

The story relates that, as Na-maka-o-ka-ha'i passed the sand- 
spit of Moku-papapa, Kane-milo-hai, who, it will be remembered, 
had been left there in charge as the agent of Pele, hailed her with 
the question: "Where are you going so fast?" 

"To destroy my enemy, to destroy Pele," was her answer. 

"Return to Kahiki, lest you yourself be destroyed," was the 
advice of Kane-milo-hai. 

Pele, accepting the gage thrown down by Na-maka-o-kaha'i, 
with the reluctant consent of her guardian Ka-moho-alii, went 
into battle single-handed. The contest was terrific. The sea- 
monster, aided by her dragon consort, was seemingly victorious. 
Dismembered parts of Pele's body were cast up at Kahiki-nui, 
where they are still pointed out as the bones of Pele (na iwi o 
Pele.) (She was only bruised). Ka-moho-alii was dismayed 
thinking Pele to have been destroyed; — ^but, looking across the 
Ale-nui-haha channel, he saw the spirit-form of Pele flaming in 
the heavens above the summits of Mauna-loa and Mauna-kea. 
As for Na-maka-o-ka-ha'i, she retired from the battle exultant, 
thinking that her enemy Pele was done for: but when she re- 
ported her victory to Kane-milo-hai, that friend of Pele pointed 
to the spirit body of Pele glowing in the heavens as proof that 
she was mistaken. Namaka was enraged at the sight and would 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth XV 

have turned back to renew the conflict, but Kane-milo-hai dis- 
suaded her from this foolhardy undertaking, saying, "She is 
invincible; she has become a spirit." 

The search for a home-site still went on. Even Hale-a-ka-la 
was not found to be acceptable to Pele's fastidious taste. Ac- 
cording to one account it proved to be so large that Pele found 
herself unable to keep it warm. Pele, a goddess now, accordingly 
bade adieu to Maui and its clustering isles and moved on to 
Hawaii. 

He Kaao na Pele, i Haalele ai ia Maui 

Aloha o Maui, aloha, e! 
Aloha o Moloka'i, aloha, e! 
Aloha o Lana'i, aloha, e! 
Aloha o Kaho'olawe, aloha, e! 
Ku makou e hele, e! 

Hawaii ka ka aina 

A makou e noho ai a mau loa aku; 

Ke ala ho'i a makou i hiki mai ai. 

He ala paoa ole ko Ka-moho-alii, 

Ko Pele, ko Kane-milo-hai, ko Kane-apua, 

Ko Hiiaka — ka no'iau — i ka poli o Pele, 

1 hiki mai ai. 

translation 

Pele's Farewell to Maui 

Farewell to thee, Maui, farewell! 
Farewell to thee, Moloka'i, farewell! 
Farewell to thee, Lana'i, farewell! 
Farewell to thee, Kaho'olawe, farewell! 
We stand all girded for travel: 
Hawaii, it seems, is the land 
On which we shall dwell evermore. 
The route by which we came hither 
Touched lands not the choice of Paoa;— 
'Twas the route of Ka-moho-alii, 
Of Pele and Kane-milo-hai, 
Route traveled by Kane-apua, and by 
Hiiaka, the wise, the darling of Pele. 

Pele and her company landed on Hawaii at Pua-ko, a desolate 



XVI Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

spot between Kawaihae and Kailua. Thence they journeyed 
inland until they came to a place which they named Moku-aweo- 
weo — not the site of the present crater of that name, but — situ- 
ated where yawns the vast caldera of Kilauea. It was at the 
suggestion of Ku-moku-halii and Keawe-nui-kau of Hilo that 
the name was conferred. They also gave the name Mauna-loa 
to the mountain mass that faced them on the west, "because," 
said they, "our journey was long." 

Night fell and they slept. In the morning, when the elepaio 
uttered its note, they rose and used the Paoa staff. The omens 
were favorable, and Pele decided that this was the place for her 
to establish a permanent home. 

The people immediately began to set out many plants valuable 
for food ; among them a variety of kalo called aweii, well suited 
for upland growth; the ulu (bread-fruit); the maia (banana); 
the pala-a (an edible fern) ; the awa (Piper methysticum) and 
other useful plants. 

The land on the Hilo side of Kilauea, being in the rain belt, 
is fertile and well fitted for tillage. The statement, however, 
that Kilauea, or its vicinity, became the place of settlement for 
any considerable number of people cannot be taken literally. 
The climatic conditions about Kilauea are too harsh and untropi- 
cal to allow either the people or the food plants of Polynesia to 
feel at home in it. The probability is that instead of being gath- 
ered about Kilauea, they made their homes in the fat lands of 
lower Puna or Hilo. 

Pele, on her human side at least, was dependent for support 
and physical comfort upon the fruits of the earth and the climatic 
conditions that made up her environment. Yet with all this, in 
the narrative that follows her relations to humanity are of that 
exceptional character that straddle, as it were, that border line 
which separates the human from the superhuman, but for the 
most part occupy the region to the other side of that line, the 
region into which if men and women of this work-a-day world 
pass they find themselves uncertain whether the beings with 
whom they converse are bodied like themselves or made up of 
some insubstantial essence and liable to dissolve and vanish at 
the touch. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 1 

CHAPTER I 
PELE IN THE BOSOM OF HER FAMILY 

Once, when Pele was living in the pit of Kilauea, she roused 
up from her couch on the rough hearth-plate and said to hef 
sisters, "Let us make an excursion to the ocean and enjoy our- 
selves, open the opihi shells and sea-urchins, hunt for small squid 
and gather sea-moss." 

To this all joyfully assented, saying, "Yes, let us go." 

The sisters formed quite a procession as they tramped the nar- 
row downhill path until they came to the hill Pu'u-Pahoehoe — a 
place in the lower lands of Puna. Pele herself did not visibly 
accompany them on this journey; that was not according to her 
custom : she had other ways and means of travel than to plod 
along a dusty road. When, however, the party arrived at the 
rendezvous, there, sure enough, they found Pele awaiting them, 
ready for the business in hand. 

In the midst of their pleasurings Pele caught sight of Hopoe 
and Haena as they were indulging in an al fresco dance and hav- 
ing a good time by the Puna sea. She was greatly pleased and, 
turning to her sisters, said, "Come, haven't you also got some 
dance that you can show off in return for this entertainment by" 
Hopoe and her companion?" 

They all hung their heads and said, "We have no hula." 

Hiiaka, the youngest, had stayed behind to gather lehua flowers, 
and when she came along laden with wreaths, Pele said to her, 
jestingly, "I've just been proposing to your sisters here to dance 
a hula in response to that of Hopoe and her fellow, but they de- 
cline, saying they have not the art. I suppose it's of no use to 
ask you, you are so small; but, perhaps, you've got a bit of a 
song." 

"Yes, I have a song," Hiiaka answered, to the surprise of all. 

"Let us have it, then ; go on !" said Pele. 

Then the little girl, having first decorated all of her sisters with 
the wreaths, beginning with Pele, sang as follows : 

Ke ha'a la Puna i ka makani ; 

Ha'a ka ulu hala i Keaau; 

Ha'a Haena me Hopoe; 

Ha'a ka wahine, 

Ami i kai o Nana-huki, la — 

Hula le'a wale, 

I kai o Nana-huki, e-e! 



2 Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

translation 

Puna's a-dance in the breeze, 
The hala groves of Keaau shaken: 
Haena and Hopoe are swaying; 
The thighs of the dancing nymph 
Quiver and sway, down at Nana-huki — 
A dance most sightly and pleasing, 
Down by the sea Nana-huki. 

Pele was delighted. 'Ts that all you have?" she asked. 

"I have somthing more," said the girl. 

"Let us hear it then." 

Hiiaka put even more spirit into the song as she complied : 

O Puna kai kuwa i ka hala; 
Pae ka leo o ke kai; 
Ke lu, la, i na pua lehua. 
Nana i kai o Hopoe, 
Ka wahine ami i kai 

Nana-huki, la; 
Hula le'a wale, 

1 kai o Nana-huki, e-e. 

TRANSLATION 

The voice of Puna's sea resounds 
Through the echoing hala groves; 
The lehua trees cast their bloom. 
Look at the dancing girl Hopoe ; 
Her graceful hips swing to and fro, 
A-dance on the beach Nana-huki : 
A dance that is full of delight, 
Down by the sea Nana-huki. 

At the conclusion of this innocent performance — the earliest 
mention of the hula that has reached us — Hiiaka went to stay 
with her friend Hopoe, a person whose charm of character had 
fascinated the imagination of the susceptible girl and who had 
already become her dearest intimate, her inspiring mentor in 
those sister arts, song, poesy and the dance. 

Pele herself remained with her sister Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena 
(Hiiaka-of-the-fire-bloom), and presently she lay down to sleep 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 3 

in a cave on a smooth plate of pahoehoe. Before she slept she 
gave her sister this command : "Listen to me. I am lying down 
to sleep ; when the others return from fishing, eat of the fish, but 
don't dare to wake me. Let me sleep on until I wake of myself. 
If one of you wakes me it will be the death of you all. If you 
must needs wake me, however, call my little sister and let her be 
the one to rouse me; or, if not her, let it be my brother Ke-o- 
wahi-maka-o-ka-ua — one of these two." 

When Ke-o-wahi-maka-o-ka-ua, who was so closely related to 
Pele that she called him brother, had received this command and 
had seen her lapse into profound sleep he went and reported the 
matter to Hiiaka, retailing all that Pele had said. "Strange that 
this havoc-producer should sleep in this way, and no bed-fellow !" 
said Hiiaka to herself. "Here are all the other Hiiakas, all of 
equal rank and merit ! Perhaps it was because my dancing pleased 
her that she wishes me to be the one to rouse her." 

The cavern in the hill Pahoehoe in which Pele lay and slept, 
wrapped in her robe (hapa-ahu) , remains to this day. 

In her sleep Pele heard the far-off beating of hula drums, and 
her spirit-body pursued the sound. At first it seemed to come 
from some point far out to sea; but as she followed, it shifted, 
moving to the north, till it seemed to be off the beach of Waiakea, 
in Hilo ; thence it moved till it was opposite Lau-pahoehoe. Still 
evading her pursuit, the sound retreated till it came from the 
boisterous ocean that beats against the shaggy cliffs of Hamakua. 
Still going north, it seemed presently to have reached the mid 
channel of Ale-nui-haha that tosses between Hawaii and Maui. 

"If you are from my far-off home-land Kahiki, I will follow 
you thither, but I will come up with you," said Pele. 

To her detective ear, as she flitted across the heaving waters of 
Ale-nui-haha, the pulsing of the drums now located itself at the 
famous hill Kauwiki, in Hana; but, on reaching that place, the 
music had passed on to the west and sounded from the cliffs of 
Ka-haku-loa. 

The fugitive music led her next across another channel, un- 
til in her flight she had traversed the length of Moloka'i and 
had come to the western point of that island, Lae-o-ka-laau. 
Thence she flew to cape Maka-pu'u, on Oahu, and so on, until, 
after crossing that island, she reached cape Kaena, whose finger- 
point reaches out towards Kaua'i. In that desolate spot dwelt 
an aged creature of myth, Pohaku-o-Kaua'i by name, the per- 
sonal representative of that rock whose body-form the hero Mawi 



4 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

had jerked from its ocean bed ages before, in his futile attempt 
to draw together the two islands Kaua'i and Oahu and unite 
them into one mass. 

Pele, arguing from her exasperation, said, "It must be my old 
grandfather Pohaku-o-Kaua'i who is playing this trick with the 
music. If it's he that's leading me this chase, I'll kill him." 

The old fellow saw her approach and, hailing her from a dis- 
tance, greeted her most heartily. Her answer was in a surly 
mood : "Come here ! I'm going to kill you to-day. So it's you 
that's been fooling me with deceitful music, leading me a weari- 
some chase." 

"Not I, I've not done this. There they are, out to sea; you 
can hear for yourself." And, sure enough, on listening, one could 
hear the throbbing of the music in the offing. 

Pele acknowledged her mistake and continued her pursuit, with 
the parting assurance to the old soul that if he had been the 
guilty one, it would have been his last day of life. 

The real authors of this illusive musical performance were two 
little creatures named Kani-ka-wi and Kani-ka-wa, the former 
a sprite that was embodied in the nose-flute, the latter in the 
hokeo, a kind of whistle, both of them used as accompaniments 
to the hula. Their sly purpose was to lure Pele to a place where 
the hula was being performed. 

Pele now plunged into the water — from this point at least she 
swam — and, guided by the call of the music, directed her course 
to the little village of Haena that perched like a gull on the cape 
of the same name, at the northernmost point of the island of 
Kaua'i. It was but a few steps to the hall of the hula — the haiau 
— where throbbed the hula drums and where was a concourse of 
people gathered from the whole island. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 5 

CHAPTER II 

PELE MEETS AND FASCINATES LOHIAU 

As Pele drew near to the rustic hall where the hula was in 
full blast, the people in the outskirts of the assembly turned to 
look in wonder and admiration at the beauty and charm of the 
stranger who had appeared so unexpectedly and whose person 
exhaled such a fragrance, as if she had been clad with sweet- 
scented garlands of maile, lehua and hala. One and all declared 
her to be the most beautiful woman they had ever looked upon. 
Where was she from? Surely not from Kaua'i. Such loveliness 
could not have remained hidden in any nook or corner of the 
island, they declared. 

Instinctively the wondering multitude parted and offered a lane 
for her to pass through and enter the halau, thus granting to 
Pele a full view of the musicians and performers of the hula, 
and, sitting in their midst, Lohiau, — as yet seemingly unconscious 
of her presence, — on his either hand a fellow drummer; while, 
flanking these to right and left, sat players with a joint of bamboo 
in either hand (the kaekeeke). But drummer and kaekeeke- 
player, musicians and actors — aye, the whole audience — became 
petrified and silent at the sight of Pele, as she advanced step by 
step, her eyes fixed on Lohiau. 

Then, with intensified look, as if summoning to her aid the 
godlike gifts that were hers as the mistress of Kilauea, she reached 
out her hand and, in a clear tone, with a mastery that held the 
listeners spell-bound, she chanted: 

Lu'ulu'u Hanalei i ka ua nui, 
Kaumaha i ka noe o Alaka'i, 
I ka hele ua o Manu'a-kepa; 
Uoi ku i ka loa o Ko'i-alana, 
I ka alaka'i 'a a ka malihini, e ! 
Mai hina, mai hina au, 
Mai palaha ia o-e. 
Imi wale ana au o kahi o ke ola, 
O ke ola nei, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Tight-pressed is Hanalei's throng, 
A tree bent down by heavy rain, 



6 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Weighted with drops from the clouds, 

When rain columns sweep through Manu'a-kepa, 

This throng that has lured on the stranger, 

Nigh to downfall, to downfall, was I, 

Laid flat by your trick— aye yours ! 

My quest was for comfort and life, 

Just for comfort and life! 

The silence became oppressive. In the stillness that followed 
the song expectant eyes were focused upon Prince Lohiau, await- 
ing his reply to the address of the stranger who stood in their 
midst. No one knew who she was; no one imagined her to be 
Pele. That she was a person of distinction and rank was evident 
enough, one whom it was the duty and rare privilege of their 
chief to receive and entertain. 

Presently there was wrinkling of foreheads, an exchange of 
glances, prompting winks and nods, inclinations of the head, a 
turning of the eyes — though not a word was spoken — ; for his 
friends thought thus to rouse Lohiau from his daze and to prompt 
him to the dutiful rites of hospitality and gallantry. Paoa, his 
intimate friend, sitting at Lohiau's right hand, with a drum be- 
tween his knees, even ventured to nudge him in the side. 

The silence was broken by Pele: 

Kalaku Hilo i ka ua nui; 

Kapu ke nu, ke i, 

I ka pua o ka leo, 

I ka hamahamau — hamau kakou — 

I ka hawanawana; 

I ke kunou maka; 

I ka awihi maka; 

I ka alawa iki. 

Eia ho'i au, kou hoa, 

Kou hoa, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Bristling, frumpy, sits Hilo, 

Drenched by the pouring rain, 

Forbidden to murmur, 

Or put forth a sound. 

Or make utt'rance by speech: 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 7 

Must all remain breathless, 
Nor heave an audible sigh, 
Withholding the nod, the wink. 
And the glance to one side. 
I pray you behold me now: — 
Here stand I, your guest. 
Your companion, your mate! 

Lohiau, once roused from his ecstacy, rose to the occasion and 
with the utmost gallantry and politeness invited Pele to sit with 
him and partake of the hospitalities of the halau. 

When Pele had seated herself on the mat-piled dais, Lohiau, 
following the etiquette of the country, asked whence she came. 

"I am of Kaua'i," she answered. 

"There is no woman of Kaua'i your equal in beauty," said 
Lohiau. "I am the chief and I know, for I visit every part of 
the whole island." 

"You have doubtless traveled about the whole island," an- 
swered Pele; "yet there remain places you are not acquainted 
with ; and that is where I come from." 

"No, no! you are not of Kaua'i. Where are you from?" 

Because of his importunity, Pele answered him, "I am from 
Puna, from the land of the sunrise; from Ha'eha'e, the eastern 
gate of the sun." 

Lohiau bade that they spread the tables for a feast, and he 
invited Pele to sit with him and partake of the food. But Pele 
refused food, saying, "I have eaten." 

"How can that be?" said he, "seeing you have but now come 
from a long journey? You had better sit down and eat." 

Pele sat with him, but she persistently declined all his offers 
of food, "I am not hungry." 

Lohiau sat at the feast, but he could not eat ; his mind was 
disturbed; his eyes were upon the woman at his side. When 
they rose from the table he led her, not unwilling, to his house, 
and he lay down upon a couch by her side. But she would favor 
him only with kisses. In his growing passion for her he forgot 
his need of food, his fondness for the hula, the obligations that 
rested upon him as a host: all these were driven from his head. 

All that night and the following day, and another night, and 
for three days and three nights, he lay at her side, struggling 
with her, striving to overcome her resistance. But she would 
grant him only kisses. 



8 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

And, on the third night, as it came towards morning, Pele said 
to Lohiau, "I am about to return to my place, to Puna, the land 
of the sunrise. You shall stay here. I will prepare a habitation 
for us, and, when all is ready I will send and fetch you to myself. 
If it is a man who comes, you must not go with him; but, if a 
woman, you are to go with the woman. Then, for five days and 
five nights you and I will take our fill of pleasure. After that 
you will be free to go with another woman." 

In his madness, Lohiau put forth his best efforts to overcome 
Pele's resistance, but she would not permit him. ''When we meet 
on Hawaii you shall enjoy me to your fill," said she. He strug- 
gled with her, but she foiled him and bit him in the hand to the 
quick ; and he grasped the wound with the other hand to staunch 
the pain. And he, in turn, in the fierceness of his passion, planted 
his teeth in her body. 

At this, Pele fluttered forth from the house, plunged into the 
ocean and — was gone. 



CHAPTER III 

LOHIAU COMES TO HIMSELF— HIS DEATH— THE 
THREAT OF PAOA 

When Lohiau came to himself, as from a dream, be looked for 
the woman who- had lain at his side, but her place was vacant 
and cold. He went out into the open air, but she was nowhere 
to be found, and he turned back into the empty house. 

Lohiau's stay with Pele in the sleeping house had prolonged 
itself beyond all reason and his friends became concerned about 
him ; and as night after night and day after day passed and they 
neither saw nor heard anything of him, their concern grew into 
alarm. Yet no one dared enter the house. Lohiau's sister, how- 
ever, made it her business to investigate. Opening the door of 
the house, she entered, and, lo, there hung the body of her 
brother, suspended from a rafter, his malo about his neck. Life 
had been gone for many hours and the body was cold. Her 
screams brought to her aid a group of Lohiau's friends who at 
once lifted their voices in unison with hers, bewailing their 
chief's death and denouncing the woman who had been with 
him as the guilty cause. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 9 

Paoa was the most outspoken in his imprecations. Stripping 
off his malo, he stood forth in the garb of nature and declared 
he would not resume his loin cloth until he had sought out the 
woman and humiliated her by the grossest of insults. ''I will 
not gird my loins with a malo until I have kindled a fire in Pele's 
face, pounded her face as one pounds a taro, consumed her very 
eyes." This was the savage oath with which Paoa pledged his 
determination to avenge the death of his friend, his chief, Lohiau. 
With universal wailing, amid the waving of kahilis, with tender 
care and the observance of all due rites, his people anointed the 
dear body of their chief with perfumed oil, wrapped it in scented 
robes of choicest tapa, and laid it to rest in the sepulcher. 

The favorite dog of Lohiau, who was greatly attached to his 
master, took his station at the grave and would not be persuaded 
to leave. Poha-kau, a cousin of Pele, — himself a kupua and pos- 
sessed of superhuman powers, — having journeyed from Hawaii 
to Haena, found the faithful creature keeping his lonely vigil at 
the grave and he brought the. dog with him to Pele. 

"Your man is dead; Lohiau is dead," said he. "But this 
animal — do you recognize him? — I found watching by the grave 
in Haena." 

"Yes, that is the dog I saw with Lohiau," answered Pele ; and 
she hid the dog away in her secret place. 



CHAPTER IV 
PELE AWAKES FROM HER SLEEP 

While the scene we have described was being enacted on 
Kaua'i, the spirit of Pele, returning from its long flight, hovered 
over the sleeping body at Lau-pahoehoe. Above it waved the 
kahihs, about it were gathered the sisters and other relatives, 
quietly sobbing. Though it was many days since Pele had lain 
down to sleep, and though they feared the consequences if she 
continued thus, they dared not disturb her. When that was 
proposed, the sister in charge objected. "If it must be done, we 
shall have to send for Hiiaka the beloved." 

Some of them suggested that Pele must be dead, she had 
remained so long without motion. But Hiiaka-of-the-lightning- 
flash scouted the idea: "How can that be? The body shows no 
signs of decay." 



10 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

The girl Hiiaka saw the messenger that had been despatched 
to fetch her, while as yet she was in the dim distance, — it was 
her nurse, Pau-o-pala'e, — and there came to her a premonition 
of what it all meant, a vision, a picture, of the trouble that was 
to come; yet. overmastering her, was a feeling of affection ahd 
loyalty for her elder sister. Standing outside the house, that 
she might better watch the approach of Paii-o-pala'e and be on 
hand to greet her, she voiced her vision in song: 

A ka lae ohi'a i Papa-lau-ahi, 

I ka imu lei lehua o Kua-o-ka-la — 

Lehua maka-nou i ke ahi — 

A wela e-e, wela la! 

Wela i ke ahi au, 

A ka Wahine mai ka Lua, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

From the forest-tongue at Papa-lau-ahi 
To the garlands heaped at Back-o'-the-sun, 
The beauteous lehuas are wilted. 
Scorched, burnt up, aye burnt. 
Consumed by the fire of the Woman — 
The fire that flows from the Pit. 

As the messenger, in the vibrating sunlight, thridded her way 
among the tree clumps and lava-knobs, which now concealed her 
and now brought her into full view, Hiiaka, with gaze inient to 
gain such snap-shots of her as these obstructions did not forbid, 
continued her song: 

No ka Lua paha ia makani, o ka Pu'u-lena, 

Ke halihali i ke ala laau, 

Honi u ai ke kini i kai o Haena — 

Haena aloha! 

Ke kau nei ka haili moe ; 

Kau ka haili moe i ke ahiahi: 

He hele ko kakahiaka : 

Mana'o hele paha au e-e. 

Homai ka ihu a hele a'e au ; 

Aloha oe a noho iho, e-e! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 11 

TRANSLATION 

From the Pit, doubtless, breathes Pu'u-lena, 
With its waft of woodland perfume — 
A perfume drunk in with rapture 
On the beach of beloved Haena. 
There wafts to me this premonition, 
This vision and dream of the night: 
I must be gone in the morning : 
I foresee I must travel to-morrow. 
A farewell kiss ere I journey; 
Farewell, alas, to thee who remainest! 

Her hostess, Hopoe, would not take the song or the farewell 
of Hiiaka seriously. "You are simply joking," she said, "letting 
your gloomy imagination run away with you. Who in the world 
is driving you away, as if you had worn out your welcome?" 

The messenger, Pau-o-pala'e, when she had saluted Hiiaka, 
said, "I come from your sisters. They want to see you." 

Arrived at Lau-pahoehoe, (a) Hiiaka found her sisters in great 
consternation, fearing for the life of Pele if she were allowed to 
continue her long sleep. Her spirit, it is true, had come back 
to her body; but it was merely hovering about and had not en- 
tered and taken possession, so that there were no signs of ani- 
mation or life. It seemed to be waiting for the voice of Hiiaka, 
the beloved, to summon it back and to make it resume conscious- 
ness. 

Hiiaka demanded to know the cause of the wailing. 

"We are lamenting our sister, the head of the family. You 
can see for yourself; she is dead." 

After carefully examining the body of Pele, Hiiaka stoutly 
declared, "She is not dead. That is evident from the absence of 
corruption." Then, sitting close to Pele's feet, she sang: 

O hooko ia aku oe 

ka hana ana a ke akua: 

1 kai o Maka-wai 

Ke kike la ka pohaku: 
Wahi kai a ke 'kua — 
He akua, he kanaka ; 
He kanaka no, e-e! 

(o) This Laupahoehoe is to be distinguished from that in Hilo. 



12 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

Content you now with your god-work: 
Down by the sea at Maka-wai 
The rocks have smitten together; 
The sea has opened a channel. 
Goddess you were, now human, 
Return to your human clay! 

Pele slept on and gave no sign of waking. Hiiaka then chanted 
this serenade: 

E ala, e ala, e ala! 
E ala, e Hi-ka-po-kuakini ! 
E ala, e Hi-ka-po-kuamano ! 
E ala, e ke Akua, e ke Alo ! 
E ala, e ka Uwila nui, 
Maka eha i ka lani, la ! 
E ala, e, e ala! 

TRANSLATION 

Awake now, awake, awake! 
Wake, Goddess of multiple god-power! 
Wake, Goddess of essence most godlike! 
Wake, Queen of the lightning shaft. 
The piercing fourth eye of heaven! 
Awake ; I pray thee awake ! 

The effect was magical: Pele's bosom heaved; breath entered 
her lungs ; a fresh color came to her face, and spread to the tips 
of her ears. She sighed, stretched herself and sat up: she was 
herself again. 



CHAPTER V 

PELE MAKES A PROPOSITION TO HER SISTERS 

That same day Pele and the other sisters returned to Kilauea, 
while Hiiaka went back to resume her visit with Hopoe, each 
party reaching its destination at about the same time. Early the 
next morning Pele called to her sister Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i (Hiiaka- 
of-the-choppy-sea) and said, "I want you to go on an errand for 
me." 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth ' 13 

**No doubt I shall agree to go when you have told me what it 
is," was the answer of the young woman. 

"You are to journey to Kaua'i and escort hither our lover — 
yours and mine. While on the way you are not to lie with him ; 
you are not to touch noses with him; you are not to fondle him 
or snuggle close to him. If you do any such thing I will kill 
both of you. After your return, for five days and five nights, I 
will have him to myself, and after that he shall be your lover." 

On hearing this, the young woman hung her head and wept. 

Pele then made the same proposal to each of the other sisters 
in turn. Not one of them would consent to undertake the mis- 
sion. They knew full well the perils of the undertaking: the 
way was beset with swarms of demons and dragons, with beings 
possessed with powers of enchantment; and Pele did not offer 
to endow them with the power that would safeguard them on 
their journey. 

Pele, finding herself foiled on this tack, as a diversion, said, 
"Let us refresh ourselves and have some luau." The sisters 
immediately set to work, and, when they had made up the 
bundles of delicate taro leaves and were about to lay them upon 
the fire, Pele called to Pau-o-pala'e and bade her go straightway 
to Haena and fetch Hiiaka, "And you are to be back here by 
the time the luau is cooked." 

Now the girl^ whose full name was Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, 
was the youngest of the sisters, and, by reason of her loveliness 
and accommodating disposition, she was Pele's favorite. She 
was, moreover, gifted vy^ith a quick intuition and a clairvoyant 
perception of distant happenings and coming events. At the 
time of the conversation between Pele and the seven sisters, 
Hiiaka was sporting in the ocean with her surf-board in the 
company of Hopoe. While thus engaged, the whole matter of 
the proposed journey to Haena came to her as in a vision. In 
the midst of her surfing she turned to Hopoe and said, "I per- 
ceive that I am about to undertake a long journey; and during 
my absence you will remain here in Puna waiting my return." 

"No ! What puts such a notion into your head ?" said Hopoe. 

"Yes, I must go," insisted Hiiaka. Then they mounted a roll- 
er, and, as their boards touched the beach, there stood the mes- 
senger of Pele ; and this was the message : "Gird on your pau 
and come with me to Kilauea. Your sister commands it." 

As the two jogged on their uphill way, an impulse seized 
Hiiaka, and she gave voice to a promonition, a shadow of com- 



14 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

ing trouble, as it were, and, standing in the road at Mokau-lele, 
she sang: 

He ua kui lehua ko Pana-ewa; 
He ua ma kai kui hala ko Puna, e ! 
Aloha e, aloha wale Koloa, e-el 
Na mau'u i moe o Malei. 

TRANSLATION 

Pana-ewa's rain beats down the lehuas, 
A rain by the sea smites the halas of Puna. 
My love, my pity go out to Koloa; — 
Her fare, wilted herbs at Malei. 

Hiiaka — true poet that she was, and alive to every colorable 
aspect of nature — as she trudged on her way, came upon a sight 
that touched her imagination; two birds were sipping together 
in loving content of the water that had collected in the crotch 
of a tree, in which also was growing an awa plant. — Such 
nature-planted awa was famed as being the most toxic of any 
produced in Puna. — Her poetic mind found in the incident 
something that was in harmony with her own mood, and she 
wove it into a song: 

O ka manu mukimuki, 
Ale lehua a ka manu, 

ka awa ili lena 

1 ka uka o Ka-li'u ; 

O ka manu ha'iha'i lau awa o Puna : — 
Aia i ka laau ka awa ona o Puna, 
O Puna, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

O bird that sips with delight 
the nectar-bloom of lehua. 
Tasting the yellow-barked awa 
That climbs in Ka-liu's uplands; 
O bird that brews from this leafage 
Puna's bitter-sweet awa draught; — 
Puna's potentest awa grows 
Aloft in the crotch of a tree; — 
Most potent this awa of Puna ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 15 

CHAPTER VI 
HIIAKA CONSENTS TO PELE'S PROPOSITION 

Hiiaka arrived at the Pit in good time to partake with the 
others of the frugal feast ordered by Pele. At its conclusion, 
Pele turned to the girl Hiiaka and put the question in her blunt 
way, "Will you be my messenger to fetch our lover — ^yours and 
mine — from Kaua'i? Your sisters here" — she glanced severely 
about the group — "have refused to go. Will you do this for 

The little maid, true to her sense of loyalty to the woman who 
was her older sister, the head of the family, and her alii, to the 
surprise and dismay of her other sisters, answered, "Yes, I will 
go and bring the man." 

It was a shock to their sense of fitness that one so young 
should be sent on an errand of such danger and magnitude ; but 
more, it was a reproof that slapped them in the face to have this 
little chit accept without hesitation a commission which they had 
shrunk from through lack of courage. But they dared not say 
a word; they could but scowl and roll the eye and shrug the 
shoulder. 

"When you have brought our lover here," continued Pele, 
"for five nights and five days he shall be mine; after that, the 
tabu shall be off and he shall be yours. But, while on the way, 
you must not kiss him, nor fondle him, nor touch him. If you 
do it will be the death of you both." 

In spite of the gestured remonstrances of the group, Hiiaka, 
in utter self-forgetfulness and diplomatic inexperience, agreed 
to Pele's proposition, and she framed her assent in a form of 
speech that had in it the flavor of a sacrament : 

Kukulu ka makia a ka huaka'i hele moe ipo: 

Ku au, hele, noho oe. 

E noho ana na lehua lulu'u, 

Ku'u moku lehua i uka o Ka-li'u, e. 

Li'uli'u wale ka hele ana 

O ka huaka'i moe ipo. 

Aloha mai ka ipo — 

O Lohiau ipo, i Haena. 



16 Pele and Hiiaka^-A Myth 

translation 

Firm plant the pillar, seal of our love-pact; 

Here stand I, begirt for this love-quest; 

You shall abide, and with you my groves — 

Lehua and hala — heavy with bloom. 

The journey is long and toilsome the task 

To bring our fine lover to bed. 

Hark ! a love-hail — from beloved Lohiau ! 

Beloved Lohiau of Haena! 

(I am impelled by my admiration for this beautiful song to 
give another version of it:) 

Ku kila ke kaunu moe ipo; 

Ku au, hele, noho oe, a no-ho, 

A noho ana i na lehua o Lu-lu'u, 

O ka pae hala, moku lehua, i uka o Ka-li'u. 

Li'u-li'u ho'i, H'u-li'u wale 

Ka hele ana o ka huaka'i moe ipo. 

Aloha mai ka ipo, 

O Lohiau ipo, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Fixed my intent for the lover-quest: 
Here I stand to depart; you remain, 
And with you my bloom-clad lehuas. 
And the palm-groves that wave in Ka-li'u. 
Long, wearisome long, shall the journey be 
To find and to bring our lover — 
That dearest of lovers, Lohiau ! 

Hiiaka would sleep on it. Her start was to be in the morning. 
The next day, while Hiiaka was climbing the long ascent up 
the crater-pali, her sisters, anxious and appreciating the danger 
of the undertaking, were quietly weeping outside the cave; but 
they dared not utter a word that might come to the ears of Pele. 
They began, however, tO' beckon and signal to Hiiaka to return. 
She saw them and turned back, uttering the following plaint: 

E ku ana au e hele ; 

E lau ka maka o ua nei ino ; 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 17 

E ka po'e ino, o lakou nei, e: 
E mana ana, ka, ia'u e hele ; 
E hele no au, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

While I stand ready for travel, 
You bad lot ! 'Tis you that I mean ! 
This weight of travel you'd lay on me; 
These bad ones sit with impudent stare: 
And so it is I that must go! 

The opposition of the sisters was based largely on Hiiaka's 
youth and inexperience. The girl did not understand nor give 
them credit for this generous regard for herself; she saw only 
their disobedience and disloyalty to Pele's command. 

Pele, impatient at her vacillation, broke out on her savagely: 
"Here you are again! Be off on your journey! You shall find 
no food here, no meat, no raiment, no roof, no sisterly greeting, 
nothing, until you return with the man. It would have been 
useless to dispatch these homely women on this errand ; it seems 
equally useless to send a beautiful girl like you." 

To this outburst Hiiaka retorted: 

Ke hanai a'e la ka ua (a) i ka lani: 
Maka'u au i ka ua awa i ka uka o Kiloi. 
Ina (b) ia ia la, he loiloi, (c), e — 
I loiloi no oe elua (d) oiwi — 
Loiloi iho la, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The rain doth replenish the heavens; 
I dread the fierce rain of upland Kiloi. 
Behold now this one, the fault-finder ! 
You, in two shapes, are hard to please — 
Aye, in either shape, hard to please! 

(a) Ua, rain. It is suggested this may refer — sarcastically — to the 
watery secretion in Pele's eyes, as found in old people. 
(&) Ina, here means consider. 

(c) Loiloi. If a chief was not pleased or satisfied with a gift, loiloi would 
express his state of mind. 

(d) Elua oiwi, literally, two shapes. Pele had many metamorphoses. 



18 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

"I am not grumbling or finding fault with you {loiloi) : it was 
simply because you turned back that I spoke to you. Do you 
call that reproaching you?" 

Hiiaka, though a novice in diplomacy, as shown by her in- 
stant and unconditional acceptance of Pele's proposition, having 
once got her second breath, now exacted of Pele a condition 
that proved her to be, under the discipline of experience, an apt 
pupil in the delicate art of diplomacy. "I am going to bring 
our lover, while you remain at home. If during my absence 
you go forth on one of your raids, you are welcome to ravage 
and consume the lands that are common to us both; but, see 
to it that you do not consume my forests of lehua. And, again, 
if the fit does come upon you and you must ravage and destroy, 
look to it that you harm not my friend Hopoe." 

Pele readily agreed to Hiiaka's reasonable demand, thinking 
thus to hasten her departure. To the inexperienced girl the 
terms of the agreement seemed now complete and satisfactory, 
and, in the first blush of her gratification, Hiiaka gave ex- 
pression to her pleasure: 

Ke kau aloha wale mai la ka ua, e-e; 
Ka mauna o ka haliii kua, a-a. 
I ku au a aloha oe, ka Lua, e-e ! 
Aloha ia oe, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Kindly falls the rain from heaven; 
Now may I turn my back and travel: 
Travel-girt, I bid farewell to the Pit; 
Here's a farewell greeting to thee. 

Even now Hiiaka made an ineffectual start. Some voice of 
human instinct whispered that something was wanting, and she 
again faced her sister with a request so reasonable that it could 
not be denied: 

Ke ku nei au e hele: 
Hele au a ke ala, 
Mihi mai e-e: 
Mana'o, ho'i mai no au, 
la oe la, ia o-e. 
La'i pohu mai la 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 19 

Lalo o ka Lua, e : 

I elua mai la, pono au. 

Olelo I ke aka, 

Ka hele ho'okahi, e; 

Mamina ka leo — 

He leo wale no, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

My foot Still shod for travel, — 

I made a misstart on my journey ; 

I've come to repair my neglect. 

A need, a request, brings me back, 

To plead in thy presence once more: 

Joy springs up within; 

There's calm in the Pit. 

Give me but a travel-mate: 

That would content me. 

Who travels alone has 

For speech-mate his shadow. 

Futile is speech, with 

No answering voice — 

Empty words, only a voice. 

(The exigencies of the narrative have induced me, in the 
above song, to couple together two mele which the story-tellers 
have given us as belonging to two separate incidents in Hiiaka's 
fence with Pele.) 

"Your request is reasonable," said Pele; "to travel alone is 
indeed to converse with one's shadow. You shall have a com- 
panion." 

Pele designated a good-natured waiting woman as her attend- 
ant, who had the poetical name of Pau-o-pala'e (or Pau-o-palaa). 
This faithful creature heartily accepted the trust, that of kahu — 
a servant with the pseudo responsibility of a guardian — and, hav- 
ing expressed her fealty to her new mistress, she at once took 
her station. Thus everything seemed arranged for a start on 
the eventful journey. 

The terms and conditions of Hiiaka's going were not even yet 
to the satisfaction of her watchful sisters and relatives. One 
matter of vital importance had been omitted from the outfit: 
Pele had not bestowed upon Hiiaka the mana, power and au- 



20 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

thority, to overcome and subdue all the foes that would surely 
rise up to oppose and defeat her. With wild gestures they sig- 
nalled to Hiiaka once more to return. 

Hiiaka's answering song, though pointed with blame, gives 
proof that her own intuitions were not entirely at fault: 

A ka luna, i Pu'u-onioni, 

Noho ke anaina a ke 'Kua. 

Kilohi a' ku'u maka ilalo, 

I ka ulu o Wahine-kapu: 

He o'ioina Kilauea, 

He noho-ana o Papa-lau-ahi, e. 

Ke lau-ahi mai la o Pele ia kai o Puna: 

Ua one-a, oke-a, kai o Malama, e. 

E malama i ka iki kanaka, 

I ka nu'a kanaka; 

O kakou no keia ho-akua — 

Akua Mo'o-lau, e! 

Mo'o-lau ke ala, e! 

TRANSLATION 

From the crest of Tremble (a) Hill 

1 look on the concourse of gods, 
At ease on the gossip-ground, 
The seat of Wahine-kapu, 
Rest-station to Kilauea, 

Its pavement of lava-plate: 
Such plates Pele spreads in Puna — 
Hot shards, gray sands at Malama. 
Succor and life for small and great! 
Be it ours to play the god; our way 
Beset by demons four hundred! 

The communication between Hiiaka and her sisters had, on 
their part, been carried on mostly by means of gesture and sign- 
language. But on this return of Hiiaka the whole family of 
brothers and sisters were so moved at the thought of the dan- 
ger to Hiiaka that they spoke out at last and frankly advised 
Hiiaka to go before Pele and demand of her the gift of spiritual 
power, nmna, that she might be able to meet her enemies on 

(a) The wavering of indecision. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 21 

equal terms at least, so that she need not feel powerless in their 
presence. But nothing came of this move at the time, for at this 
moment out came Pele from her cave, and, seeing Hiiaka stand- 
ing with the others, she addressed her sharply and said : "What ! 
You still here? Why are you not on the way to fetch our man?" 
Face to face with Pele, Hiiaka's courage oozed away and she 
promised to make another start in the morning. When on this 
new start she had come near the top of the ascent, she turned 
about and sang: 

Punohunohu i ka lani 
Ka uahi o ka lua; 
He la'i ilalo o Kilauea; 
Maniania 'luna o Wahine-kapu. 
I kapu, la, i ke aha ka leo, e? 

TRANSLATION 

The pit-smoke blankets the heavens; 
Clear is the air in Kilauea, 
Tranquil Wahine-kapu's plain — 
The Woman, why silent her voice? 

Hiiaka now made common cause with the group of sisters and 
relatives who were bent on securing for her justice and fair 
treatment. Among them, taking council together, sat Ka-moho- 
alii, Kane-milo-hai, Kapo and Pohakau(o). By this action Hii- 
aka took a new attitude: while not coming out in open defiance 
to her sister, she virtually declared her determination no longer 
to be domineered over by Pele. 

In the council that took place it was determined that Ka-moho- 
alii, who stood high in Pele's regards and whose authority was 
second only to hers, was the proper one to approach Pele in the 
matter of conferring upon Hiiaka the necessary mana. When, 
therefore, Pele put to Hiiaka the question why she had returned, 
why she was not on her journey, Ka-moho-alii spoke up and said, 
"It is because of fear she has returned. She sees danger by the 
way. You have not given her the mana to protect her from the 

(a) This Pohakau was the friend, previously mentioned, who had brought 
to Pele the faithful dog that lay fasting and mourning at Lohiau's grave. 
Pohakau remained at Pele's court ; the dog Pele hid away in her own secret 
place. 



22 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

dragons and monsters that infest the road. O Mo'o-lau ke ala, e: 
The way is beset by dragons four hundred." 

"Ah, that is the trouble?" said Pele. Then she called upon 
the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning 
— all the heavenly powers — to aid and safeguard Hiiaka and she 
authorized her to exercise the powers of these heavenly beings. 
The gods, thereupon, ratified this act of Pele; and at last the 
way was made clear for Hiiaka's departure. 



CHAPTER VH 
HHAKA STARTS ON HER JOURNEY 

The refusal of her sisters to undertake the mission to fetch 
Lohiau had angered Hiiaka. Her intrepid fealty to Pele, their 
oldest sister and their alii, laughed to scorn the perils of the 
journey. She could not and, for a time, would not bring her- 
self to understand their prudential attitude. Pele was their alii, 
and it was rank disloyalty in them to shirk any danger or to de- 
cline any command Pele might think fit to impose. In judging 
the conduct of her sisters, it did not at first enter the head of 
Hiiaka that motives of sound worldly prudence justified them in 
declining for themselves an errand full of danger, or in putting 
obstacles in the way of her going on the same errand: she saw 
in it only a failure to rise to the level of her own loyalty. 

The situation, then, was heavily charged with estrangement, 
and when the woman in Hiiaka could not refrain from one more 
farewell, the color and tone of voice and song had in them the 
snap of electricity: 

Ke ku nei au e hele, a noho oe; 
A noho ana na Wahine o Lu-lu'u 
E ka pae(a) moku lehua 
I uka o Ka-li'u, la. 
Li'uli'u wale ka hele ana 
O ka huaka'i moe ipo. 
Aloha mai ka ipo, 
O Lohiau ipo, e-e! 

(a) One critic says it should be po'e. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 23 

TRANSLATION 

Here stand I begirt for travel ; 

You must tarry at home, and these 

These .... women .... who sit downcast. 
Oh, care for my parks of lehua — 
How they bloom in upland Ka-li'u! 
Long is the way and many the day 
Before you shall come to the bed of love, 
But, hark ! the call of the lover, 
The voice of the lover, Lohiau! 

At the utterance of this name Pele brightened and called to 
Hiiaka, "Yes, that is the name of our man. I purposely kept it 
back until you should have reached the water-shed (kaupaku (a) 
o ka hale o kaua, literally the ridgepole) of our house, intending 
then to reveal it to you; but you have divined the man's name. 
Go on your journey. Nothing shall avail to block your road. 
Yours is the power of woman; the power of man is nothing to 
that." 

On reaching the plateau of Wahine-kapu Hiiaka received a 
spiritual message telling her that Lohiau — the object of her 
errand — was dead. She at once turned towards Pele and com- 
memorated the fact in song: 

I Akani-hia, 

I Akani-kolea, 

I Pu'u-wa'a-hia, 

I Pu'u-manawa-le'a, 

I Pu'u-aloha, la: 

He mea e ke aloha o ke kane, e. 

Ke haale iho nei au e hanini, e; 

E uwe au, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Let us sound it aloud — 
Far as the plover's flight; 
With full breath shout it. 
And with a full heart, 
Big with affection. 

(o) Kaupaku o ka hale o kaua. A hidden reference to sexual intercourse. 



24 Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

Ah, wondrous the love for a man! 
The feeUngs that strive, 
As these tears, to rush out — 
I can not repress them! 

Pele did not know this name-song of Lohiau until she heard it 
recited by Hiiaka. This it was that led Hiiaka to come back 
within easy hearing distance: 

Ke uwa ia mai la e ka ua; 

Ke kahe ia mai la e ka wai : 

Na lehua i Wai-a'ama, la, lilo, 

Lilo a'u opala lehua 

I kai o Pi'i-honua, la; 

Mai Po'i-honua no a Pi'i-lani. 

TRANSLATION 

It sobs in the rain; 

It moans in the rushing tide. 

Gone is my grove of lehuas — 

My rubbish grove, that stood 

By the pilfering waters — flown. 

He has flown, like its smoke, to heaven. 

'Tis there I must seek him! 

"How absurd of you," said Pele; "you were not sent on an 
expedition to heaven, but to bring a man who is here on earth. 
If you fly up to heaven, you will pass him by and leave him here 
below." 

Hiiaka and her faithful companion^ — Pau-o-pala'e — had 
gotten well away from the vast pit of Kilauea, with its fringe 
of steam-cracks and fumaroles that radiate from it like the stays 
of a spider-web, and they were nearing the borders of Pana-ewa, 
when Hiiaka's quick ear caught the sound of a squealing pig. Her 
ready intuition furnished the right interpretation to this seem- 
ingly insignificant occurrence: 

A loko au o Pana-ewa, 
Halawai me ka pua'a 
A Wahine-oma'o, 
Me ku'u maka lehua i uka, 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 25 

Me ka Malu-ko'i (b) i ka nahele, 

E uwe ana i ka laau. 

Alala ka pua'a a ka wahine — 

He pua'a kanaenae, 

He kanaenae mohai ola — 

E ola ia Pele, 

I ka Wahine o ka Lua, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

In the heart of Pana-ewa — 

Lehuas were heavy with bud, 

The dim aisles solemn with' shadow — 

I met with a suckling pig, 

The pet of Wahine-oma'o, 

A wailing voice in the wilderness: 

Twas the creature wail of the thing, 

Foredoomed as an offering, this 

Wailing thing was a sacrifice. 

An appeal to Pele for life. 

To the Woman who dwells in the Pit. 

At this moment a young woman of attractive person appeared 
on the scene and, prostrating herself to the earth, said, "O, Pele, 
behold my offering, which I bring to thee in fulfillment of the 
pledge made by my parents, that I should first seek thee, O Pele, 
before I come to my marriage bed. Accept this suckling which 
I offer to thee, O Pele." 

"I am not the one you are seeking : I am not Pele," said Hii- 
aka. "Pele is over yonder in the Pit." 

The woman was persistent and begged that Hiiaka would not 
despise her offering. After undeceiving her, Hiiaka carefully in- 
structed her, lest she make some fatal mistake in her approach 
to the jealous goddess: "When you come to the Pit you must 
be careful in your approach to Pele. The least departure from 
the etiquette she demands would be the cause of your death. Do 
not imagine that the fine large woman sitting at the door is Pele, 
nor that any one of the women seated within is she. You must 
pay no attention to these. Look for the figure of a wrinkled old 
woman lying bundled up on the hearth: that is Pele: make the 
offering to no one else but to her." 

(6) Malu-ko% dark and gloomy. 



26 Pele and Hiiaka^— a Myth 

"Alas for me," said Wahine-oma'o. "You will be gone a long 
way from this place by the time I shall return to seek you. I shall 
not be able to find you." 

"You will find us here," replied Hiiaka assuringly. 

Hiiaka used her power to bring the woman at once to her des- 
tination. Following the instructions given her, Wahine-oma'o 
was quickly transported into the presence of Pele and, having 
made her offering in due form, was about to retire, when Pele 
called her back and said, "Did you not meet some women go- 
ing from here as you came this way?" 

"I met some women," she answered. 

"Make haste and come up with them," said Pele. "The young- 
er woman is very dear to me. Attach yourself to her as a friend." 

"That I will do," said Wahine-oma'o. Then, moved by an im- 
pulse that came to her (the work, it is said, of Hiiaka), she said 
to Pele, "I had imagined you to be a beautiful woman, Pele. But, 
lo, you are old and wrinkled ; and your eyes are red and watery." 
Thus saying, Wahine'oma'o took her departure and almost im- 
mediately found herself again with Hiiaka. 

"You have made quick time," Hiiaka said. "How did you 
get on?" 

"I followed your instructions and presented my offering to the 
woman who was lying on the hearth. She asked me if I had 
met you, and when I said yes, she told me to look after you as a 
friend." 

"Is that all?" 

"She also told me to watch you, to observe how you behaved 
towards the man — whether you kissed him or had any dalliance 
with him." 

"And did you say anything to Pele?" 

"U-m, I bantered her about her looks ; told her she was a very 
ill-favored woman, while the women attending her were very 
handsome." 

Hiiaka laughed at this naive account. 

Night shut down upon them at Kuolo, a place just on the bor- 
der of Pana-ewa. Pau-o-pala'e proposed that they should seek a 
resting place for the night with the people of the hamlet. Hiiaka 
would not hear to it: "Travelers should sleep in the open, in 
the road; in that way they can rise and resume their journey with 
no delay." {0 Tea po'e hele he pono ia lakou e moe i ke alanui, i 
ala no a hele no.) 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 27 

CHAPTER VIII 

THE GIRL PA-PULEHU— THE FEAST 

In the morning while it was still dark, they roused and started 
afresh. Their way led through lehua groves of the most luxuri- 
ant growth, the bloom of which crimsons the landscape to this 
day, exuding a honey that is most attractive to the birds of 
heaven. The cool still air wafted to their ears the hum of 
voices which was soon explained when they came upon a bevy 
of girls who were busily plucking the bright flowers to string 
into wreaths and garlands, in anticipation of some entertain- 
ment. This rural scene made an appeal to the poet in Hiiaka 
which she could not resist: 

A Wai-akea, i ka Hilo-hana-kahi, 

Ala i ka wa po iki, 

I ka lehua lei o Hilo, o Hi-lo; 

E pauku ana no ka hala me ka lehua. 

Maikai Hilo, o Hilo-hana-kahi! 

TRANSLATION 

At Wai-akea, in Hilo — 
The Hilo of Hana-kahi — 
They rise in the early morning 
To weave fresh wreaths of lehua, 
Inbeading its bloom with hala — 
Gay Hilo of Hana-kahi ! 

At sight of Hiiaka's party, the lively flower-girls made a rush, 
as if to capture and appropriate their friendly acquaintance for 
individual possession. The most vivacious and forward of the 
whole party was Pa-pulehu, their leader, a buxom young woman, 
of good family, who at once took possession of Hiiaka for her- 
self, crowned and bedecked her with wreaths and garlands, with 
many expressions of enthusiastic admiration : "This is my friend ! 
— What a beauty! — How the scarlet lehua becomes her! — Just 
look, girls! — And now you are to come and be my guest. — The 
feast is set for this very day. — But you are all welcome." 

The unrestrained gush of the young woman's rattling talk was 
quite 'in contrast to the selected words of Hiiaka. 



28 Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

Now Pa-pulehu was of a large and important family, embrac- 
ing numerous friends and relations, and, having ample means, 
her hospitalities were unstinted. The report spread quickly, "Pa- 
pulehu has a distinguished guest come to visit her. There is to 
be a feast this afternoon. All are invited." 

The tables were spread with a great variety of fish, meats, 
fruits and vegetables. The parents and guardians of the girl, 
nevertheless, came to her and inquired, "What is there that this 
young woman, your friend, would specially like to eat?" Paii-o- 
pala'e took it upon her to answer, that the one thing that would 
be most acceptable to Hiiaka would be a dish of luau. There- 
upon a large quantity of young and delicate taro leaves were pre- 
pared for the table. 

When they were gathered at the tables, Hiiaka sitting in the 
place of honor, Pau-o-pala'e, at her request, bade all the people 
incline their heads and close their eyes. Then Hiiaka called upon 
her allies, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the elements and all the 
gods to come to the feast and partake ; and when the prayer was 
ended and they opened their eyes — lo, the tables spread for 
Hiiaka were empty! Hiiaka had not been seen to take into her 
hands any of the food that was spread before her. It had 
vanished away as a drop of water evaporates in the heat of 
the sun. 

The feast being concluded, Hiiaka rose, bade good bye to the 
people and resumed her journey, taking with her Pa-pulehu. 

This girl Pa-pulehu was of genuine flesh and blood, with no 
blend of divine ichor in her veins, such as enriched the blood of 
Hiiaka; nor had she, like Wahine-oma'o and Pau-o-pala'e, been 
strengthened and made more resistant to spiritual and physical 
foes — a privilege granted to those who had enjoyed a close ap- 
proach to Pele as attendants and worshippers. This weakness in 
her nature had its influence in determining the fate to which her 
history now quickly leads. 

Their journey still lay through Puna. They were at Kalalau, 
not far from Haena (at the place where, centuries afterwards, 
Kamehameha was struck with that well-nigh fatal blow by an 
outraged fisherman). Some fishermen were hauling in their 
nets full of fish. The sight was too much for Pa-pulehu. "I 
hunger for fish," she xeclaimed. "These fish belong to my 
father. Oh, if I only were at home! how I would eat until I 
was satisfied!" 

Hiiaka thought it best to indulge the appetite of this novice in 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 29 

her service. From a little knoll overlooking the ocean, she des- 
cried the canoe of a fisherman named Pahulu floating in the off- 
ing, but already well stocked with fish. Hiiaka used her power 
and drove away the school of fish that would have come to his 
net. The man himself was so intent on his work that he had 
no eyes for what was passing on shore; but his assistant ex- 
claimed, "Look at the beautiful woman standing on the shore 
and watching us !" 

"I must keep my eyes on my nets," the fisherman replied. 

Thereupon Hiiaka attracted his attention with a song : 

Nani ku a ka Hilo pali-ku! 

O ka au-hula ana o Ka-lalau, 

O ka au alana loa i kai, e ! 

Ho mai he i'a, na ka pehu o uka, ea. 

TRANSLATION 

A standing wonder, Hilo cliffs ! 
How daring this Ka-lalau swimming. 
Far out to sea on a floating plank ! 
Pray grant us, O man, of your fish — 
Fish for the herb-swollen rustic. 

This brought the two fishermen ashore who thereupon willingly 
parted with some of their fish to Hiiaka, coupling the gift, how- 
ever, with a proposition insulting to the honor of the two women. 
The fishermen, imagining they had the two women under their 
power, were soon after seen lying in the open embracing two fig- 
ures of stone which they, in their insane infatuation, fancied were 
the two women, thus exposing themselves to the jeers and deri- 
sion of their fellows. 

Pa-pulehu cooked and ate the fish, but her manner of eating 
was lacking in due punctiHo, in that she did not dispose properly 
of the unconsumed parts — the tails, fins, bones and scales — of the 
fish. She should have burned or buried them; instead she left 
them lying about in a slovenly way. This neglect was highly of- 
fensive to Pele and caused her to withdraw from Pa-pulehu the 
protection she otherwise would have given her. 



30 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

CHAPTER IX 
HIIAKA CHOOSES THE ROUTE THROUGH PANA-EWA 

Two routes offered themselves for Hiiaka's choice, a makai 
road, circuitous but safe, the one ordinarily pursued by travelers ; 
the other direct but bristling with danger, because it traversed the 
territory of the redoubtable witch-mo'o, Pana-ewa. Hiiaka had 
deigned to appeal to the girl Pa-pulehu, she being a kamaaina (a), 
as if for information. When Hiiaka announced her determination 
to take the short road, the one of danger that struck through the 
heart of Pana-ewa, Pa-pulehu drew back in dismay and expostu- 
lated: "That is not a fit road for us, or for any but a band of 
warriors. If we go that way we shall be killed." She broke forth 
with lamentations, bewailing her coming fate and the desolation 
that was about to visit her family. 

As they advanced Wahine-oma'o descried a gray scare-crow ob- 
ject motionless in the road ahead of them. She thought it to be 
the blasted stump of a kukui tree. Hiiaka recognized its true 
character, the witch-form taken as a disguise by a mo'o. It was 
a scout sent out by Pana-ewa ; in real character a hag, but slimed 
with a gray excrement to give it closer resemblance to a moulder- 
ing tree-stump. The deceiving art of magic did not avail against 
Hiiaka. She rushed forward to give the death stroke to the foul 
thing, which at once groveled in the dirt in its true form. 

Night overtook them in a dense forest. While the others lay 
and slept, Hiiaka reconnoitered the situation. The repose of the 
wilderness was unbroken save for the restless flitting of a solitary 
bird that peered at Hiiaka obtrusively. It was a spy in the employ 
of Pana-ewa and its actions roused the lively suspicions of Hii- 
aka, eliciting from her an appropriate incantation: 

Ka wai mukiki ale lehua a ka manu, 
Ka awa ili lena i ka uka o Ka-li'u, 
Ka manu aha'i lau awa o Puna : 
Aia i ka laau ka awa o Puna. 
Mapu mai kona aloha ia'u — 
Hoolaau mai ana ia'u e moe, 
E moe no au, e-e! 

(a) Kamaaina, a resident, one acquainted with the land. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 31 

TRANSLATION 

O honey-dew sipped by the bird, 
Distilled from the fragrant lehua ; 
O yellow-barked awa that twines 
In the upper lands of Ka-li'u; 
O bird that brews from this leafage 
Puna's bitter-sweet awa draught; — 
Puna's potentest awa grows 
Aloft in the crotch of the trees. 
It wafts the seduction to sleep, 
That I lock my senses in sleep! 

It was a subtle temptation that suggested the awa cup as a 
relief for her troubles. Hiiaka had need that all her faculties 
should give her their best service. For her to have slept at this 
time would have been fatal. Her song well expressed it : 

E nihi ka hele i ka uka o Puna ; 

Mai ako i ka pua, 

O lilo i ke ala o ka hewahewa. 

Ua huna ia ke kino i ka pohaku, 

O ka pua na'e ke ahu nei i ke alanui — 

Alanui hele o ka unu kupukupu, e-e ; — 

Ka uli-a ! 

A kaunu no anei oe o ke aloha la ? 

Hele a'e a komo i ka hale o Pele; 

Ua huahua'i i Kahiki ; lapa uila, 

Pele e, hua'i'na ho'i ! 

TRANSLATION 

Heed well your way in upland Puna ; 
Pluck never a single flower; 
Lest you stray from the path. 
The shape lies hid neath a stone, 
The path is one carpet of flowers, 
The blocks of stumbling overgrown. 
Quick follows the downfall! 
Is there a compact between us of love? 
Fly, voice, assail the ear of Pele! 
Erupt, Kahiki, with lightning flash! 
Now, Pele, burst forth in thy might! 



32 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Pana-ewa entrusted the work of reconnoisance and scouting 
for information to two of his creatures named Ke-anini and Ihi- 
kalo, while he lay down and slept. Having done their work, 
the two scouts waked the drowsy monster in the middle of the 
night with the information that four human beings, women, had 
entered his domain and were coming towards him. "Where are 
they?" he asked. 

"Out in this direction (pointing), and they are moving this 
way." 

"Well, this day of fasting has gone by. What a pity, however, 
that the poi in my calabash has turned sour, but the taro is sweet. 
Eye-balls ! what juicy, delicious morsels 1 The day of privation 
turns out to be a day of feasting." Thus muttered the cannibal 
monster, gloating like Polyphemus in his cave at the prospect 
of a feast. 

Hiiaka kept her own courage at the fine point of seeming in- 
difference, she also inspired her companions with the same feel- 
ing by the calm confidence displayed in her singing: 

Pau ke aho i ke kahawai lau o Hilo : 
He lau ka pu'u, he mano ka iho'na ; 
He mano na kahawai o Kula'i-po; 
He wai Honoli'i, he pali o Kama-e'e, 
He pali no Koolau ka Hilo-pali-ku ; 
He pali Wailuku, he one ke hele ia ; 
He one e ke'ehia la i Wai-olama. 
He aka ka wi a ka wai i Pana-ewa — 

Pana-ewa nui, moku-lehua, 
Ohi'a kupu hao'eo'e i ka ua, 
Lehua ula i ka wi' ia e ka manu. 
A ua po, e, po Puna, po Hilo 

1 ka uahi o ku'u aina. 
By Pana-ewa. — 

"Ola ia kini ! ke a mai la ke ahi, e-e !" 

TRANSLATION 

One's strength is exhausted, climbing, climbing 
The countless valleys and ridges of Hilo, — 
The streams without number of Ku-la'i-po, 
The mighty water of Hono-li'i, 
The precipice walls of Kama-e'e, 
And the pali of Ko'olau : 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 33 

Such a land is Hilo-pali-ku. 
The banks of Wailuku are walls ; 
The road to its crossing but sand ; 
Sandy the way at Wai-o-lama. 
How cheery the purl of these waters ! — 
Great Pana-ewa — her parks of lehua, 
Scraggy in growth yet scarlet a-top, 
Its nectar wrung out by the birds ! 
Black night covers Puna and Hilo, 
A pall from the smoke of my home land ! 
(By Pana-ewa). 

"Here's food for me and mine! 
• Behold the blaze of the ovens !" 

(The last two lines are said to be the utterance of Pena-ewa who feigned 
to regard the fires as those of his own people, who, in anticipation of an 
easy victory, had made ready their ovens to receive the bodies of Hiiaka 
and her party.) 

Hiiaka bravely answered Pana-ewa: 

Pana-ewa, ohi'a loloa, 
Ohi'a uliuli i ka ua, 

1 moku pewa ia 

E ka laau o kepakepa, 
A ka uka i Haili la. * 
Ilihia, iHhia i ka leo — 
He leo wale no, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Pana-ewa, a tall ohi'a. 

The fruit red-ripe in the rain, 

Is vilely slashed with the stick 

Of the mountaineer. 

It stands in upland Haili: 

Terriffic — the voice is terrijffic; 

Yet it's merely a voice! 

"The voice was threatening only because my servants reported 
that some people were trespassing. That set my tongue agoing 

about poi and - taro. After all it's a question of 

strength. Your valor it is that must win for you a passage 
through this land of mine." 

This was Pana-ewa's ultimatum. 



34 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Hiiaka accepted the defiance of Pana-ewa by chanting a 
solemn kahoahoa, which was at once a confident prediction of 
victory and an appeal to the gods: 

Kua loloa Keaau i ka nahele hala ; 
Kua huluhulu Pana-ewa i ka laau: 
Inoino ka maha, ka ohi'a o La'a, e; 
Ku kepakepa ka maha o ka laau, 
U-a po'ohina i ka wela a ke Akua; 
U-a-uahi Puna o ka oloka'a pohaku ia, 
I ka huna pa'a ia e ka Wahine. 
Nanahu ahi ka ka papa o Oluea; 
Momoku ahi Puna, hala i Apua ; 
Ulu-a ka nahele me ka laau : 
Ka ke kahiko ia o Papa-lau-ahi. 
Ele-i(a) kahiko, e Ku-Hli-kaua; 
Ka ia,(&) hea (c) hala o Ka-li'u; 
E ne (c?) ka La, ka malama; 
Onakaka ka piko (e) o Hilo i ke one, 
I hu-la (/) ia aku la e, hulihia i kai. 
Ua wawahia, ua nahaha, 
Ua he-helelei ka papa i Pua-le'i, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Long is the reach of Keaau's palms; 
Bristly-backed Pana-ewa's woodlands; 
Spoiled are the restful groves of La'a; 
Ragged and patchy the tree-clumps — 
Gray their heads from the ravage of fire. 
A blanket of smoke covers Puna — 
All paved with the dump from Her stone-yard. 
The Goddess' fire bites Olu-ea — 
One cinder-heap clean to Apua; 

(a) Ele-i. One Hawaiian says this rare word means blue-back, shiny- 
black (J. W. P.) ; another says it means rich, choice, select (T. J. P.) 
(&) Ka, to remove, clean up entirely, as in bailing a canoe. 

(c) Hea, destroyed, flattened out. 

(d) Ne, an elided poetical form of nele, meaning gone, blotted out. 

(e) PiTco, the navel. The belly, or piko, of a fish was the choicest part. 
"I ka piko no oe, lihaliha." Eat of the belly and you shall be satiated. 
(Old saying.) 

if) Hu-la. (Notice the accent to distinguish it from hula.) To dig up, 
as a stone out of the ground. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 35 

Food for Her oven are wildwood and brush — 

The finish that to Lau-ahi's glory: 

Her robe now is changed to jetty black, 

At the onset of Ku-lili-kaua, 

Ka-liu's palms plucked root and branch. 

The Sun and the Moon are blotted out; 

Hilo is shaken to its foundation, 

Its lands upheaved, despoiled to the sea. 

Shattered, fissured, powdered, reduced; 

Its plain is ashes and dust ! 

The battle that ensued when Panaewa sent to the attack his 
nondescript pack of mo'o, dragonlike anthropoids, the spawn of 
witchcraft, inflamed with the spite of demons, was hideous and 
uncanny. Tooth and claw ran amuck. Flesh was torn, limbs 
rent apart, blood ran like water. If it had been only a battle 
with enemies in the open Hiiaka would have made short work 
of the job. Her foes lay ambushed in every wood and brake 
and assumed every imaginable disguise. A withered bush, a 
bunch of grass, a moss-grown stone, any, the most innocent 
object in nature, might prove to be an assailant ready to spit 
venom or tear with hook and talon. Hiiaka had need of every 
grain of wit and every spark of courage in her nature. Nothing 
could withstand her onset and the billows of attack against her 
person were broken as by a solid rock. Some described her as 
wielding a flaming battle-ax and hurling missiles of burning 
sulphur. They might well be deceived. The quickness of her 
every motion was a counterfeit of the riving blade or blazing 
fire-ball. Some assert that, in her frenzy, she tore with her teeth 
and even devoured the reeking flesh until her stomach rose in 
rebellion. Such a notion seems incompatible with the violence 
of her disgust for the reptilian blood that besmeared her from 
sole to crown. 

Pau-o-pala'e, using her magical pau as a besom of destruction, 
was transformed into a veritable Bellona; and Wahine-oma'o 
displayed the courage of an amazon. These both escaped serious 
injury. The unhappy fate of Pa-pulehu realized that girl's pre- 
monition. She fell into the hands of the enemy and, as if to ful- 
fill the prediction of Pele, became "food for the gods of Pana- 
ewa." 

As Hiiaka glanced heavenward, she saw the zenith filled with 
cloud-forms — Kane, Kanaloa, Ka-moho alii, Poha-kau and 



36 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

others, encouraging her with their looks. The sight, while it 
cheered, wrung from her a fervent prayer : 

Kela pae opua i ka lani, e, 
Ke ka'i a'e la mauka o Poha-kau. 
He kaukau, aloha keia ia oe, 
la oe no, e-e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Yon group of god-forms, that float 
And sail with the clouds heaven-high, 
Mustered and led by Poha-kau; 
This prayer is a love-call to you! 

"Our sister is in trouble," said Ka-moho-alii, "let us go to her 
assistance!" Such was the call of Ka-moho-alii when he saw 
his little friend and quondam protege Hiiaka in trouble, and theirs 
were the god-forms that sailed through the sky to reenforce her. 



CHAPTER X 
HHAKA'S BATTLE WITH PANAEWA 

The bird-spies sent out by Pana-ewa brought back contradic- 
tory reports. The first pair reported that Hiiaka was being 
worsted. Soon after another pair, garbling the facts, said "Our 
people are lying down, but they are still alert and keep their 
eyes open. As for Hiiaka, she has fallen into a deep sleep." 

The situation was far from satisfactory and Pana-ewa des- 
patched another pair of birds to reconnoitre and report. It was 
not yet morning and the night was dark; and they accordingly 
took the form of kukui(a) trees, thinking thus to illuminate the 
scene of operations. The intelligence they brought was con- 
founding: "Our people," they said, "are all dead, save those 
who have the form of kukui trees- Hiiaka lies quietly sleeping 
in the road." 

This account, though strictly in accord with the facts, was so 
disconcerting to Pana-ewa that he burst forth in a rage, "Slaves, 
liars ! you're deceiving me. I'll wring your necks !" and he 
reached out to execute his threat. The birds eluded him and 
found safety in flight. 

(a) Kukui, the tree whose nuts furnished torches. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth Z7 

Pana-ewa now saw that it was necessary to take the field in 
person at the head of his regular forces, composed of the Namti 
and Nawa. The disguise he chose for himself was that of an 
ohia-lehua tree. No sooner had he taken that form than he 
found himself unable to move hand or foot. A parasitic network 
of i-e-i-e embraced his body and a multitude of aerial roots 
anchored him to the spot. It was the craft of the sleeping girl 
that had done this. He had to content himself with the unwar- 
like guise of the kukui tree. 

While Hiiaka slept, her faithful servitor Pau-o-pala'e kept 
open eye and detective ear to what was going on in the star-lit 
forest about them. At the first glimmering of dawn her keen 
sense felt rather than heard a murmurous rustle that broke the 
stillness and a movement, as if the forest itself were advancing 
and closing in upon them. This oncoming of the enemy was in 
such contrast to the onset of the yelping pack on the previous 
day as to be most impressive. The sound that touched her keen 
sense was not the joyous twitter and stir of nature preparing to 
greet a new day; it was rather the distant mutter of the storm, 
soon to be heard as the growl of the tempest, or the roar and 
snarl of an enraged menagerie of wild beasts. 

The woman felt her responsibility and, with the double intent 
of summoning to their aid the friendly gods and of waking 
Hiiaka, she lifted a solemn prayer: 

Kuli'a, e Uli,(i> j^^ p^l^ l^^lg^ ^^ ^j^^. 

Kuli'a imua, i ke kahuna ;^2^ 

Kuli'a i ke Alohi-lani.<3) 

E ui aku ana au 

I kupua oluna nei, e? 

Owai kupua oluna nei, e? 

O Ilio-uH<4) o ka lani: 



(1) TJli, an elder sister of Pele, a character much appealed to by sor- 
cerers. 

(2) Kahuna, in this case probably Hiiaka. 

(3) AloM-lani, literally, the brightness of heaven; a term applied to the 
residence or heavenly court of both Uli and Kapo. In verses 36 and 37 it 
is distinctly mentioned as the abode of Kapo-ula-kina'u : "E ho'i, e komo 
1 kou hale, O Ke-alohi-lani." 

(4) lUo-uli, literally, a dog of dark blue-black color. The primitive 
Aryans, according to Max Muller, poetically applied the term "sheep" to 
the fleecy white clouds that float in the sky. The Hawaiian poet, in the lack 
of a nobler animal, spoke of the clouds as Mio, dogs. With this homely 
term, however, he coupled — by way of distinction — some ennobling adjective. 



38 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

O Ilio-ehu/^^ o Ilio-mea/^^ o ka lani; 

O Ku-ke-ao-iki/'^> o Ku-ke-ao-poko/^> 

O Ku-ke-ao-loa^^^ o ka lani; 

O Ku-ke-ao-awihiwihi^io) ula o ka lani; 

Ua ka ua, kahi wai, a na hoalii;^ii> 

O nei ka pali ma Ko-wawa;^^^^ 

O Kupina'e/^^^ o Ku-wawa; 

O Ku-haili-moe;<i4> 
O Ha'iha'i-lau-ahea;<i5) 

O Mau-a-ke-alii-hea ; ^ ^ ^ ^ 
Kanaka ^^"^^ loloa o ka mauna — 
, O Ku-pulupulu^i^^ i ka nahele, 
O na Akua mai ka wao kele; 
O Kuli-pe'e-nui^^^^ ai ahua; 
O Kike-alana;(20) 

O Ka-uahi-noe-lehua ; 

O ke Kahuna i ka puoko^^^^ o ke ahi; 



(5) lUo-ehu, literally, a white dog. 

(6) lUo-mea, literally, a dog — cloud — of a warm pinkish hue, 

(7) Ku-ke-ao-iM, Ao-iki, small clouds that stand ranged about the 
horizon. 

(9) Ao-loa, long clouds — stratus? — such as are seen along the horizon. 

(10) Ao-awihiwihi-ula, a cloud-pile having a pinkish, or ruddy, tint. 

(11) Hoalii, the relatives of Hiiaka. 

(12) Ko-wawa, a notched pali that formed part of the wall enclosing the 
caldera of Kilauea — on its Kau side. 

(13) Kupina'e, echo, here personified and endowed with the attributes of 
a superhuman being. 

(14) Ru-haili-moe, one of the forms, or characters, of god Ku, repre- 
senting him as a smoother and beautifier of the landscape. 

(15) Ha'iha'i-lau-ahea, a goddess who had to do with the flame of fire. 
Her share in the care of a fire, or, perhaps, of Pele's peculiar fire, seems 
to have been confined to the base of the flame. 

(16) Mau-a-ke-alii-hea^ a being who had special charge of the flame- 
tip. 

(17) Kanaka loloa o ka mauna, this included Ku-pulupulu and his fellows. 

(18) Ku-pulupulu .described as a hairy being, the chief god of canoe- 
makers, who had his residence in the wildwoods. 

(19) Kuli-pe'e-nui. This much-used term is the embodiment in a word 
of the wild, lumbering, progress of a lava-flow, or lava-tongue. Translating 
the figure into words, my imagination pictures a huge, shapeless monster, 
hideous as Caliban drunk, wallowing, sprawling, stumbling along on swollen 
disjointed knees — a picture of uncouth desolation. 

(20) Kike-alana, the formulation in a word of the rending and crashing 
sounds — rock smiting rock — made by a lava-flow. 

(21) T^ahuna i ka, puoko o ke ahi. The word Kahuna is used here where 
the word akua or kupua would seem to have served the purpose of the 
ing, which, as I take it, is the spirit, or genius, of flame. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 39 

O I'imi,<22) o Lalama/23) 

Ku'i ke ahi, ka hekili ; 

Nei ke ola'i; 

Olapa ka uila. 

Lohe o Kane-hekili;^24) 

Ikiiki ka malama ia Ka-ulua/^^^ 

Elua wahine i hele i ka hikina a ka La — 

O Kumu-kahi/26) laua o Ha'eha'e:(27) 

Ha'eha'e ka moe 

O Kapo-ula-kina'ti/2^^ he alii; 

E ho'i, e komo i kou hale, 

O Ke-alohi-lani ; 

E auau i kou ki'owai kapu, 

Ponaha-ke-one ; 

E inu i kou puawa hiwa, 
Awa papa (a) a ke Akua, 

1 kanaenae no Moe-ha-una-iki/29) q. 

Hele a'e a komo 

I ka hale o Pele. 

Ua huahua'i Kahiki, lapa uwila: 

Pele e, hua'i'na ho'i ! 

Hua'i'na a'e ana 

Ka mana o ko'u Akua iwaho la, e ! 

O kukulu ka pahu^^^) kapu a ka leo; 

(22) rimi, derived seemingly from %mi, to seek. 

(23) Lalama, derived seemingly from lala, a branch; or possibly, from 
lama, a flambeau. 

(24) Kane-hekili. Thunder is always spoken of as under the control of 
god Kane. 

(25) Ka-ulua, the name of one of the months in the cool season of the 
year; one can not say positively which month is intended, for the reason 
that the nomenclature varied greatly in the different islands, and varied 
even on the same island. 

(26) Kumu-kahi, the mame of a hill in Puna on the easternmost cape of 
Hawaii ; also the name of a monolith once set up there ; in this connection 
the name of the female kupua who acted as keeper of the Sun's eastern 
gate. This name is almost always coupled with that of . . . 

(27) Ha'eha'e, of whom the same account can be given as above. 

(28) Kapo-ula-Kina'u, one of the family. The epithet ula-kina'u is used 
in allusion to the fact that her attire, red in color, is picked out with black 
spots. The name Kapo alone is the one by which she is usually known. 

(a) The awa papa had a small root, but it was of superior quality. 

(29) Moe-ha-una-iki, literally, the sleep with a gentle snore — such sleep 
as follows the use of awa. The poet personifies this sleep. To such lengths 
does the Hawaiian poetic imagination go. 

(30) Pahu kapu a ka leo. One — ^who ought to know — tells me this 
means the ear ; as if the ear were the drum on which the voice played. 



40 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ho'okiki^^i) kanawai: 

He kua<^^2^ a kanawai; 

He kai oki'a^^^^ kanawai; 

He ala muku^^^> no Kane me Kanaloa; 

He ki<^^^) ho'iho'i kanawai, 

No Pele, no ko'u Akua la, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Stand in the breach, O Uli ; 
Give heed to this plea for life; 
To the front at the call of thy priest; 
Come in the splendor of heaven ! 
I entreat these powers on high. 
And who are these beings of might? 
Ye somber Clouds that rampart the sky; 
Ye warm Clouds and ye that gleam ruddy ; 
Ye Clouds that guard heaven's border; 
Ye Clouds that mottle the heavenly vault; 
Ye Clouds that embank the horizon; 
Ye cloud-piles aglow in the sunlight. 
Descend, O Rain; O Water, pour — 
Torrential rush of the princes ! 
Rent be the wall of the crater; 
Let its groans reecho and fly ! 
Come, Ku who fashions the landscape; 
She who crushes the leaves of ahea; 
Goddess who guards the outer flame-tip ; 
Ye tall ones who dwell in the forest; 
Ku, the hirsute god of the wilds ; 
With his fellows who carve the canoe ; 



(31) Ho'okiM kanawai, to enforce, to carry out the law. 

(32) He kua a kanawai. It was said of Pele that her back was hot like 
fire, and that a bundle of taro leaves laid thereon was cooked and turned 
into luau. It was an offense punishable by death for any one to stand at 
her back or to approach her by that way. 

(33) He kai oki'a kanawai, literally, an ocean that separates, EJxclusive- 
ness, to live apart, was the rule of Pele's life. This principle is enforced 
with further illustration in the next line : — 

(34) He ala muku no Kane me Kanaloa. Even to the great gods Kane 
and Kanaloa the path of approach to Pele was cut off by the edict, thus 
far Shalt thou come and no further. 

(35) He ki ho'iho'i kanawai. The ki is said, to my surprise, to be the 
thong with which a door was made fast, ho'iho'i, in the olden times of 
Hawaii. 1 cannot but look upon this statement with some suspicion. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 41 

Come bent-kneed terrace-consumer, 
With crash and groan of lava-plate; 
And reeking smoke that glooms the forest. 
Come, Lord of the ruddy flame; 
Fire-tongues that search and spread; 
Fire-shafts that smite and crash. 
Let earthquake groan and lightning flash. 
Kane the god of lightning shall hear 
And warm this frigid month Ulua- 
Two women go to the Sun's east gate 
To rouse goddess Kapo from sleep — 
She of the black-spotted red robe. 
O Kapo, reenter your Sun-temple 
And bathe in your sacred water-pool — 
Round as a gourd, scooped in the sand ; 
Drink from your black polished awa cup 
Dark awa that's offered to the gods, 
To placate the goddess of gentle snore; 
Then enter the house of Pele. 
Pele once burst forth at Kahiki; 
Once again, O Pele, break forth; 
Display thy power, my God, to the world; 
Let thy voice sound out like a drum; 
Reiitter the law of thy burning back; 
That thy dwelling is sacred, apart; 
That Kane and Loa have limits; 
That fixed and firm are Pele's laws! 
For Pele, great Pele, is my God! 

The sisters, uncles, aunts and other kindred of Hiiaka heard 
this prayer of Pau-o-pala'e distinctly enough, and so did Pele; 
and when they saw that she appeared indifferent and made no 
move, they muttered among themselves. Then Ku-ili-kaua, a 
man of war and a leader in battle, spoke up and, addressing Ka- 
moho-alii, said "Why is it that she does not send warriors to 
the assistance of her sister? The girl has fought most bravely 
all day and is worn out; and there she lies fast asleep." 

Ka-moho-alii thereupon bade Kilioe-i-ka-pua and Olu-wale-i- 
malo, two handsome lads who were very dear to Pele (mau 
keiki punahele a Pele) — her sons in fact — to go in to Pele and 
ask her sanction to their going to the aid of Hiiaka. 

When these two boys came into Pele's presence they found 



42 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

her poking the fire with a stick (hoelo kapuahi). With a fine 
show of confidence, they at once went and seated themselves in 
Pele's lap, one on her right thigh and one on her left. Pele's 
looks softened as she contemplated them, tears gathered in her 
eyes and she said, "What is the thought in the heart? Speak." 
(Heaha ka hua i ka umaumaf Ha'i'na.) 
"Your commands-" {O ka leo,{a) literally, the voice.) 
At this Pele stood up and, leaving her own home-hearth, went 
over and took her station in the fire-pit of Hale-ma'u-ma'u. Then, 
pointing to the east, she said: 

O ka leo o ke kanaka hookahi, mailuna mai ; 

Mailoko mai o ka leo o ka manu.(&) 

O huH kai-nu'u(c) a Kane; 

E wehe ka lani, hamama ka honua; 

O wela Kahiki-ku me Kahiki-moe; 

Ala mai o Ka-moho-alii 

E moe ana iloko o ke ao polohiwa. 

E Ku e, e ho'i ka amama(rf) i ka lani; 

E Ku e, e ho'i ke ola ia Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, 

A ola loa no, a-a! 



(a) Leo, the voice ; articulate speech. Leo o ka kanaka hookahi. This 
one supreme man was Kane. The poet evidently had in mind the myth 
which is embodied in a certain Kumu-Upo, or song of creation : Kane, the 
supreme one, looking from heaven, saw Chaos, or the god of Chaos, Kumu- 
lipo, spread out below and he called to him to send his voice — leo — to the 
east, to the west, to the north and to the south. Kumo-lipo, thus roused 
from inaction, despatched the bird Halulu, who flew and carried the mes- 
sage to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south. 

It was such a voice of utterance as this (leo) that the two boys who 
went in before Pele desired. These two messenger-boys, by the way, are, 
In another account, spoken of as birds. 

The purpose of Kane in sending out this leo seems to have been to rouse 
into activity the earth-strata, na papa honua.. 

(&) Ka manu, the bird Halulu, above mentioned. 

(c) Kai-nu'u a Kane. This expression is an allusion to god Kane's surf- 
riding, which is often mentioned in Hawaiian mythology. Hull refers to the 
curling or bending over of the breaker's crest; Nu'u to the blanket of white 
and yeasty water that follows as the wake of the tumbling wave. The 
Hawaiians who are best informed in these matters have only vague ideas 
on the whole subject. 

id) Amama, a word frequently used at the end of a prayer in connection 
with the word noa (free), as in the expression amama, ua noa. The evident 
meaning Is it (the tabu) is lifted, it is free. I conjecture that the word 
amama is dreived from, or related to, the word mama, light, in the sense ot 
levitation. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 43 

TRANSLATION 

The voice from above of a man supreme 
Flies east, flies west, in the cry of a bird : 
Curl over, thou yeasty billow of Kane ! 
Be rent, O Heaven, and quake, O Earth ! 
Kahiki's pillars, flame ye and burn! 
Ka-moho-alii doth wake and rise 
From his couch on banks of purple cloud- 
To heaven return with thy tabu, O Ku ! 
Salvation, O Ku, for Hi'iaka — 
Hi'iaka the darling of Pele! 
Immortal Hfe to her! 

At this the gods of war sprang into array, as if unleashed by 
the words of Pele. At their head marched Ku-lili-ai-kaua, a 
veteran who had followed Pele in her voyage from Kahiki. 
With him, went Ke-ka-ko'i, a guide (hookele) well acquainted 
with the forest trails. In the van strode three weird figures 
(Ka-maiau, Ka-hinihini and Mapu) bearing conchs, to which 
they ever and anon applied their lips and sent forth resounding 
blasts. But even more thrilling and inspiring than the horns 
of Triton was the voice of these gods of war as they chanted 
their war-song: 

Mele Ka'i Kaua 

HuHhia ka mauna, wela i ke ahi ; 

Wela mo'a-nopu ka uka o Kui-hanalei,(o) 

I ke a pohaku Pu'u-lena ( Z? ) e lele mai iuka. 

O Ke-ka-ko'i (c) ka hookele mai ka Lua; 

O Ka-maiau (c?) kani pololei, kani le'ale'a; 

O ka Hinihini(^) kani kua mauna; 

O ka Mapu(/) leo nui, kani kohakoha; 



(a) Kui-hanalei, a region in Puna, not far from the caldera of Kilauea, 
said to be covered now with pahoehoe and aa. 

(b) Pu'u-lena, a wind that blows in the region of the volcano. 

(c) Ke-Tca-JcoH (literally ,the ax-maker), the name of the guide and 
path-finder to the company. 

(d) Ka-maiau, their trumpeter who carried a conch. 

(e) Hinihini, a poetical name for a land-shell, probably one of the genus 
Achatinella, which was popularly believed to give a shrill piping note. 

(f) Mapu, one of the trumpeters. 



44 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

hulihia i ka ale ula,(^) i ka ale lani,(/t) 

1 ka pu-ko'a,(-^) i ka a'aka(;) — 
I ke ahu a Lono(^) e! 

E lono anei, e hookuli ? 
E hookuli i ka uwalo, e! 
Eii, e hele no e! 
He-he-he-e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The Mount is convulsed, it belches flame ; 
Fire-scorched is upland Kui-hanalei — 
A hail of stones shot out with sulphur-blasts. 
Ka-ko'i guides the warrior-van; 
The rousing peals of pearly conch 
And thrilling notes of woodland shells 
Stir every heart with tuneful cheer. 
Heaven's blue is turmoiled with fire-clouds — 
Boiling fountains of flame and cinder — 
Such the form we give to our message : 
Will he heed it, or turn a deaf ear ? 
Ah, you see, he scorns our entreaty. 
Be valiant! now forward to battle! 
He-he-he-e-e ! 

Thus chanting their battle-mele (mele ka'i kaua), these gods 
of an old-time mythology marched, or flew, with resolute pur- 
pose to their task of rescuing Hiiaka and her little band and of 
ridding the land, at one and the same stroke, of their old in- 
trenched foe, Pana-ewa. Heaven and earth stirred at their onset- 
The visible signs of their array were manifest in columns of 
seething fire-shot clouds that hovered like vultures over the 
advancing army. Arrived at striking distance, they let loose 
their lightning-bolts and sounded their thunder-gongs. , Earth 

(g) Ale ula, a cloud of steam and smoke, such as accompanied an 
eruption. 

ih) Ale lani, ttie patches of blue sky between masses of clouds. 

(i) Pu-ho'a, a column of steam and smoke bursting up from a volcanic 
eruption. 

ij) A'aTca, a column of lapillae, accompanied by hot vapor and smoke, 
such as jet up from a volcanic crater or fissure. 

(fc) Lono, a message; to hear a message, i.e., to receive it. The ex- 
pression ahu a lono is at first a little puzzling. It means the visible bulk, 
or sign, of the message. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 45 

and heaven at once became turmoiled in one confused whirl of 
warring elements. 

The warriors of Pana-ewa, who — in imitation of their chief — 
had for the most part taken the guise of trees and other natural 
objects, found themselves from the first fettered and embarrassed 
by a tangle of parasitic vines, so that their thrusts against 
Hiiaka were of little avail. Now comes the onset of the Pele 
gods in the tempest-forms of hurricane, lightning, hail, and 
watery cloud-bursts that opened heaven's flood-gates- Against 
these elemental forces the dryad-forms of Pana-ewa's host could 
not stand for a moment. Their tree-shapes were riven and torn 
limb from limb, engulfed in a swirling tide that swept them 
down to the ocean and far out to sea. 

Two staunch fighters remained, Kiha, who had chosen to 
retain the honest dragon- form; and Pua'a-loa, a creature, like 
Kama-pua'a, in the demi-shape of a boar, whom Pana-ewa, at 
the scent of disaster, had thrust into the confinement of a secret 
cave. This manner of retreat saved the twain from the immedi- 
ate disaster by flood but not from the vengeance of Pele's army. 
Detected in their lairs, they were slain and their petrified bodies 
are pointed out to this day in verification of this story. 

The fate of Pana-ewa himself was most tragical. He no sooner 
had taken the form of a kukui tree than he found himself over- 
laid and entangled with meshes of parasitic growth; he could 
neither fight nor fly. The spot on which he stood sank and 
became a swamp, a lake, a sink; the foundations on which its 
bottom rested were broken up and fell away. Pana-ewa, swal- 
lowed up in the gulf, was swept out to sea and perished in the 
waves- Kane-lu-honua had broken up the underlying strata 
and made of the place a bottomless sink. 

(A reef is pointed out in the ocean opposite Papa'i which is 
the remains of the body of the mo'o Pana-ewa.) 

The part taken by Hiiaka in this last act of her deliverance 
was hardly more than that of a spectator. She had but to look 
on and witness the accomplishment of her own salvation. Having 
been rousedfrom the refreshment of sleep by the long-drawn 
recitative of Pau-o-pala'e's prayer-mele (see pp. 37-40), she did 
her best to cheer her two companions with assurances of coming 
deliverance and, gathering her little brood about her, after the 



46 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

manner of a mother-hen, figuratively, bade them cling to her, 
nestle under her wings, lest they should be swept away in the 
flood of waters that soon began to surge about them — a flood 
which carried far out to sea the debris of battle — as already 
described- 

The victory for Hiiaka was complete. Hawaii for once, and 
for all time, was rid of that pestilential, man-eating, mo'o band 
headed by Pana-ewa who, from the time of Pele's coming, had 
remained entrenched in the beautiful forest-land that still bears 
the name — Pana-ewa. 



CHAPTER XI 

HHAKA HAS VARIOUS ADVENTURES— THE SHARK 

MAKAU-KIU 

At one stroke, the benign action of the heavenly powers had 
freed a fair land from a pestilential mo'o band, disinfected it of 
the last shred and fragment of their carcases and ushered in a 
reign of peace in the wooded parks and tangled forests of Pan- 
ewa. Hiiaka could afford to celebrate her victory by recuperat- 
ing her powers in well-earned repose. While she thus lay in 
profound sleep on the purified battle-field, her two companions 
busied themselves in preparing such simple refreshment as the 
wilderness afforded. The piece de resistance of this dinner of 
herbs was luau, the favorite food of the Pele family. 

When the women had finished the task of collecting, sorting, 
making into bundles and cooking the delicate leaves of kalo, 
Hiiaka still slept. Pau-o-pala'e thereupon took her station at 
the feet of her mistress and chanted the dinner-call in the form 
of a gentle serenade : 

E ala, e ala, e ! 

E ala, e Hika'a-lani ; 

E ala, e Ke-ho'oilo-ua-i-ka-lani ; 

E ala, e Ho'omau, 

Wahine a Makali'i, la! 

E ala, e! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 47 

TRANSLATION 

O Daughter of heaven, 
Awake, awake! 
Hiiaka, awake! 
Sender of winter rain, 
Guardian of womanly rites, 
Spouse of God Maka-U'i, 
Awake thee, awake ! 

"The luau must be burnt to a crisp," Hiiaka said as she sat up. 

As Hiiaka and her companions again wended their way 
through the forest, it was evident that its innocent creatures 
had unjustly suffered in company with their guilty invaders and 
time had not yet sufficed for the exercise of that miracle of tropic 
repair which quickly heals and covers the damage done by a 
tempest. Broken limbs, fallen trees and twisted vines still 
blocked the narrow trails, while here and there an uprooted 
forest giant, in unseemly fashion, obtruded a Medusa-head of 
tawny roots in place of its comely coronal of leaves- 

In their journey they came at length to a place, Maka'u-kiu, 
where the road seemingly ended abruptly in a precipice with the 
ocean dashing wildly at its base. The alternative open to their 
choice was, to seek out some round-about inland way, or to take 
the shorter route and swim the ocean-made gap- The two 
women, Wahine-oma'o taking the lead, proposed, as a diversion, 
to swim the ocean and thus avoid a long and wearisome detour. 
Hiiaka strenuously vetoed the proposition; but the two women, 
not yet trained to subordinate their will and judgment to the 
decision of the leader, persisted, Hiiaka, thereupon, took a 
stem of the ti plant and, peeling off its rusty bark, left it white 
and easily visible. "I will throw this stick into the water," said 
she, "and if it disappears we will not make of this an au-hula- 
ana; (a) but if it remains in sight, then we will swim across this 
wild piece of water-" 

It seemed to Hiiaka that her companions displayed a masculine 
stubbornness and unreasonableness, a criticism which she uttered 
in her chanting way : 

(a) Au-hula-ana. This is the term applied to such a break in a seaside 
trail as is above described. The word hula indicates the billowy toss of the 
ocean or of the swimmer's body while making the passage. The term, fol- 
lowing Hawaiian usage, is employed either as a noun or as a verb. 



48 Pex^e and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Au ma ka hula-ana! 
Kai-ko'o ka pali ! 
Pihapiha o Eleele, 
Ke kai o Maka'u-kiu ! 
Aole au e hopo i ka loa 

Hono-kane-iki. 

1 Kane, la, olua; 

I wahine, la, wau, e ! 



TRANSLATION 

To swim this tossing sea, 

While waves ire lashing the cliff 

And the ocean rages high, 

At Eleele, the haunt of the shark ! 

I balk not the length of the road 

By Hono-kane-iki. 

Be you two stubborn as men ! 

Let me be guideful as w^oman. 

Hiiaka then threw the peeled stick into the ocean and in a 
moment it was snatched out of sight. "There! If we were to 
swim we would be seized and eaten by Maka'u-kiu." 

"When you tossed the stick into the ocean, the sea-moss cov- 
ered and concealed it, and you thought it was the work of a 
shark," was the reply of Wahine-oma'o. Again they made 
ready to plunge into the sea. Hiiaka threw another stick and 
that too was instantly swallowed ; whereupon she chanted again : 

Hookuku ka au-hula-ana o ka pali! 
Ke pu'e 'a la e ke kai a nalo ka auki; 
He i'a ko lalo, he i'a, o Maka'u-kiu — 
O Maka'u'kiu, ho'i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Have done with this fool-hardy swim ! 
The ocean just gulps down the stick ! 
A monster fish dwells in the depth — 
That monster shark, Maka'u-kiu; 
Aye, the shark-god Maka'u-kiu ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 49 

The women were not yet convinced and still persisted, a stub- 
bornness that drew from Hiiaka another remonstrance : 

Me he uahi mahu, la, 
Ko lalo o Kaka-auki, 
I Maka'u-kiu. 
He kiu, he alele aloha, 
Eia i o'u nei, e! 

TRANSLATION 

A seething whirl of ocean-mist 
Marks the place where I cast the stick : 
'Tis the work of the lurking shark. 
Your loving guard, your faithful spy — 
That is my service to you ! 

At these words the huge form of the shark rose to the surface, 
and the women, convinced at last, leaped out of the water and 
abandoned their purpose- Hiiaka now gave battle to the shark 
and that was the end of one more power of evil. 



CHAPTER Xn 
THE ROUT OF THE MAHIKI 

The location of the adventure with the shark-god Maka^u- 
kiu(o) was at the mouth of Waipi'o valley, a region where 
Hawaii's storm-coast forms an impassable rampart, save as it 
is cut by this and its twin valley, Wai-manu. These valleys take 
head in a wild forest region, the home of mist, rain and swamp. 
Adjoining this and part of the same watershed is the region 
known as Mahiki-waena, a land which the convenience of traffic 
required should be open to travel. It was the haunt of a ferocious 
horde of mo'o called mahiki(&) from their power to leap and 
spring like grass-hoppers. 

When Hiiaka proposed to pass through this region in the 



(a) Maka'u-kiu, afeared-o-a-spy. 

(b) Ma-hi-ki (mahiti, mawhiti), to leap, to skip, to spring up suddenly 
The Maori Comp. Diet. E. Tregear. 



50 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

ordinary course of travel, the head of the Mahiki insolently 
denied her the right of way, suggesting as an alternative the 
boisterous sea-route around the northern shoulder of Hawaii- 
Hiiaka's blood was up. The victory over the hosts of Pana-ewa 
and the more recent destruction of Maka'u-kiu had fired her 
courage. She resolved once for all to make an end of this 
arrogant nuisance and to rid the island of the whole pestilential 
brood of imps and mo'o. Standing on a height that overlooked 
Wai-pi'o, she chanted a mele which is at once descriptive of the 
scene before her and at the same time expressive of her de- 
termination : 

Mele Uhau 

A luna au o Wai-pi'o, 

Kilohi aku k'uu maka ilalo; 

Hele ho'i ke ala makai o Maka'u-kiu ; 

Hele ho'i ke ala mauka o Ka-pu-o'a — 

Pihapiha, he'e i ka welowelo, 

I ka pu'u Kolea, i ka ino, e — 

Ino Mahiki: 

Ua ike ka ho'i au, he ino Mahiki, 

He ino, he ino loa no, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

As I journeyed above Wai-pi'o 
Mine eyes drank in that valley — 
The whole long march as far as from 
The sea-fight at Maka'u-kiu 
Till the trail climbs Ka-pu-o'a. 
There soggy the road and glairy, 
And there do flaunt and flourish. 
On Plover Mount, the cursed Mahiki. 
For I am convinced that that crew 
Are bad, as bad as bad can be ! 

Hiiaka's march to encounter the Mahiki was interrupted for a 
short time by an incident that only served to clinch her resolu- 
tion. An agonizing cry of distress assailed her ear. It came 
from a dismantled heap of human flesh, the remains of two men 
who had been most brutally handled — by these same Mahiki, 
perhaps — their leg and arm-bones plucked out and they left 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 51 

to welter in their misery- It was seemingly the cruel infliction 
of the Mahiki. The cry of the two wretches could not be dis- 
regarded : 

E Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, e, 
E ki'i mai oe ia maua ; 
E ka hookuli i ka ualo, e ! 
Ka opu aloha ole, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

O Hiiaka-of-Pele's-heart, 

Come thou and assist us. 

Turn not a deaf ear to our cry ! 

Be not of hard and unfeeling heart ! 

Hiiaka, with a skill that did credit to her surgery, splinted the 
maimed Hmbs, inserting stems from her favorite ti plant to take 
the place of the long bones that had been removed. She left 
them seated in comfort at the roadside at Pololu. 

The Mahiki, on seeing Hiiaka advance into their territory, 
threw up the dirt and dust in their front, to express their con- 
tempt for such an insiginficant body of trespassers- Hiiaka, 
paying no attention to their insolence, pressed on. Her purpose 
was to strike directly at Mo'o-lau, the leader of the horde, to 
whom she addressed this incantation: 

A loko au o Mahiki, 

Halawai me ke Akua okioki po'o. 

Okioki inOj la, i kona po'o; 

Kahihi a'e la i kona naau ; 

Hoale mai ana i kona koko i o'u nei. 

E Lau e, Lau e-e! 

No'u ke ala, i hele aku ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

I enter the land of Mahiki ; 
I counter the head-hunting witch. 
See me pluck the head from her body ; 
See me tear out her very heart. 



52 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Till her blood surges round me in waves — 
Blood of the monster that's legion. 
Mine is the common right of way : 
The traveler's right to the road! 

At dark Hiiaka camped in the road and during the night a 
female ku-pua named Lau-mihi, whom the Mahiki chief had sent 
as a spy to watch Hiiaka, was seen standing on a high place to 
one side of them. Hiiaka at once flew at her and put an end 
to her. 

Now began a fierce battle between Hiiaka and the Mahiki 
dragon and his forces. They fought till both sides were ex- 
hausted and then, as if by mutual consent, stopped to rest- 

Hiiaka perceived that the battle was to be even more fiercely 
contested than that at Pana-ewa. She bade Pau-o-pala'e to take 
good care that no ill came to Wahine-oma'o. Looking up into 
the heavens, Hiiaka saw her relatives and friends Poha-kau, 
Ka-moho-alii, Kane-milo-hai, and a large concourse of other gods, 
including Kane, Kanaloa, Ku and Lono, watching her, evidently 
greatly interested in her performances. They assured her of 
their protection. At this Hiiaka was much encouraged and gave 
utterance to her feelings in this kanaenae : 

A Moolau, i ka pua o ka uhiuhi, 

Helele'i mai ana ka pua o Ko'o-ko'o-lau- 

Lohi'a e na mo'o liilii — 

Na mo'o liilii ke ala 

E kolo i ke kula, 

E iho i kai o Kawaihae, la. 

Hea a'e la ka mo'o liilii: 

E hakaka kaua ; paio olua auane'i. 

He 'kau Mo'o-lau, o Mo'o-lau akua, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

In the wilds of Mo'o-lau, 
The uhiuhi's time for bloom — 
The petals fall of Koolau's flower: 
The little dragons have found the way 
By which they can crawl to the plain, 
Go down to the sea at Kawaihae. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 53 

The little demons now announce 
That you and I shall battle wage : 
We two, indeed, must fight, they say — 
A god is Mo'o-lau, a host of gods! 

At this the great dragon Mo'o-lau bestirred himself. His at- 
tack was direct, but he divided his host into two columns so as 
to envelope Hiiaka and attack her on each flank. Hiiaka saw 
them approaching through the jungle and chanted the follow- 
ing rallying song: 

Mele Ho^-uluulu 

A Mo'o-lau, i ka pua o ka uhiuhi, 

Pala luhi ehu iho la 

Ka pua o ke kauno'a i ka la ; 

Na hale ohai i Kekaha, o Wa'a-kiu ; — 

E kiu, e kiu ia auane'i kou ahiahi; 

E maka'i ia olua auane'i. 

He akua Mo'o-lau, o Mo'o-lau akua, e! 

TRANSLATION 

In the jung'j^ of Mo'o-lau, 
The uhi-Vyy^ season of bloom; 
The flo'.^r of the rootless kau-no'a 
Is wilted and bent in the sun; 
My bower in Kekaha's invaded: 
Some creature is playing the spy. 
I, in turn, — be warned — will spy out 
Your quiet and rest of an evening : 
This to you, you, god Mo'o-lau ! 

Pele, perceiving that the crisis of the conflict had now come, 
called upon all the male and female relatives of Hiiaka (hoaiku) 
to go to her assistance ; "Go and help your sister Hiiaka. There 
she is fighting desperately with Mo'o-lau — fighting and resting, 
fighting and resting, well nigh exhausted. Go and help her; all 
of you go-. It's a fight against Mo'o-lau." 

When the battalion of gods moved against the mo'o, it was 
a rout and a slaughter. Then the cry arose: "No fight has 
been made against the Mahiki dragon ; he yet survives." There- 



54 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

upon they turned their attack against that old dragon and his 
guards. Hiiaka then celebrated the double victory in this paean : 

Kaiko'o Pu'u-moe-awa, wawa ka laau ; 

Nei o Pu'u-owai ma, e: 

Naha ka welowelo ; he'e na'e ho'i, e ! 

E Pu'u-owai ma, e, ke holo la! 

E Miki-aloalo, e, nawai ka make? 

Ke i-o nei, e! 

TRANSLATION 

A roar as of surf on the hill Moe-awa: 
The tumult resounds through the forest : 
Pu'u-owai and his band lead the rout. 
Your battallions are torn into tatters — 
You are running, Captain Owai! 
And you, Captain Spry, whose the defeat? 
The answer is made by the shouting ! 

Hiiaka's chief weapon of attack seems to have been her magi- 
cal pau- With this as a besom she beat them down as a husband- 
man might beat down a swarm of lo£y^sts. The Mahiki and the 
Mo'o-lau had ceased to exist as orp-^^ jj^d bodies. But from the 
rout and slaughter of the armies m^x,^^.idividuals had escaped 
with their lives, and these had hid themselves away in caves 
and secret places, some of them even, presuming apparently 
upon their power of disguise, had taken refuge in the remote 
scattered habitations of the people. Such an inference seems 
to be justified by the language of the mele now to be given: 



Note. — The gods that came to the assistance of Hiiaka such times as 
circumstances pinched her and whose spiritual power at all times re- 
enforced her feeble humanity were limited in their dominion to certain 
vaguely defined provinces and departments. Thus, if there was any sea- 
fighting to be done, it fell to the shark-god, the Admiral Ka-moho-alii, to 
take charge of it. On the other hand, the conduct of a battle on terra firma 
would be under the generalship of Kane-milo-hai ; while to Kana-loa be- 
longed the marshalling of the celestial hosts, the moon and the stars. But 
the orb of day, the Sun, belonged to Lono. Hence, if the fighting was during 
the hours of daylight, Lono would logically assume the command. The 
rule of the great god Ku was also exercised principally by day. It was he 
who arranged the calendar and settled the order of the seasons, the days 
and the nights. The subdivisions and departmental complications under 
these general divisions were numerous. 



Pele and HiiAKA — A Myth 55 

Lilo i Puna, lilo i Puna, 

Lilo i Puna, i ke au a ka hewahewa ; 

Popo'i aku ka i na hale: 

Ua piha na hale i ke 'kua — 

O Kini Akua o Wai-mea, 

ka Lehu Akua o Mana. 
Kini wale Wai-mea 

1 ka pihe o ke 'kua o UH, e. 
Po wale Mahiki; 

A ia Mahiki ke uwa la no, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Scattered through Puna, scattered through Puna, 
Is the rout of the vagrant imps : 
They swarm in the dwellings of men; 
The houses are lousy with demons — 
Wai-mea's myriads of godlings, 
Thy four hundred thousand, Mana- 
Wai-mea thrills with the snarl of witch-gods: 
Night's shadows brood over Mahiki; 
The uproar keeps on in Mahiki. 



CHAPTER XIII 
HIIAKA LOOPS BACK IN HER JOURNEY 

Hiiaka, having thus far, as it would seem, journeyed along 
the western coast of Hawaii, now loops back in her course and 
travels in the direction of Hilo by the way of Hamakua, for the 
seeming purpose of completing her work of extermination. Like 
a wise general, she would leave no enemies in her rear. 

When they came into the neighborhood of Wahine-oma'o's 
home, that girl spoke up and said, 'T think we had better take 
another road. If we keep to this one, which passes by my door, 
my parents, who will be watching for me, will see me and will 
want me to remain with them-" This she said by reason of her 
great desire to continue in Hiiaka's company. True enough, 
when they caught sight of her old home, there sat her mother 
Puna-hoa and her father Kai-pala-oa. 



56 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

"There they sit," said the girl. "If they recognize me they 
will want to keep me." 

Hiiaka bade Wahine-oma'o fall in behind her, hunch her 
shoulders, bend forward her head and walk with short infirm 
steps in imitation of an old woman. Hiiaka, on coming close 
to the old people, using the language of song, asked directions 
as to the road: 

E Puna-hoa i Kai-pala-oa, 
I na maka o Nana-kilo ma 
E nonoho mai la, e, 
Auhea ka ala, e? 

TRANSLATION 

O Puna-hoa and Kai-pala-oa, 
You with the clear-scanning eyes. 
Sitting at rest before me. 
Point me out now the road. 

"The road is plain enough ; you are taking the right way. . . . 
We are looking at that young woman of your party — she has 
such a strong resemblance to our missing daughter, save her 
way of shuffling and holding her head-" 

On reaching the outskirts of the village of Hilo, Hiiaka found 
a rickety foot-bridge, consisting of a single narrow and wobbly 
plank, liable to turn at every step and precipitate the passenger 
into the tumbling waters below — and this was the only passage 
across the rocky chasm of the Wai-luku(fl) river. This precari- 
ous crossing was the work of two sorcerers, degenerate nonde- 
scripts, who had the audacity to levy toll for the use of their 
bridge, in default of which the traveler suddenly found himself 
precipitated into the raging water. By virtue of their necro- 
mantic powers, they had the presumption to claim spiritual kin- 
ship with Hiiaka, a bond the woman could not absolutely re- 
pudiate. 

"Here comes our mo'o-puna,(&) called out Pili-a-mo'o to his 
companion. 

"Well, what of it? She will have to pay her fare the same 
as anyone else," replied Noho-a-mo'o- "Only on that condition 
shall she cross by our bridge." 

On Hiiaka's attempting to cross without paying toll, the two 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 57 

sorcerers would, following their own practice, have disarranged 
the treacherous plank and precipitated her and her party into 
the raging stream. 

'*Well said," Noho-a-mo'o replied; "provided she will consent 
to it." 

Hiiaka now called to them in the language of song : 

Kahuli-huli,(c) e-e, 

Ka papa o Wai-luku ! 

Kahuli o Apua, 

Ha'a mai o Mau-kele: 

He ole ke kaha kuai ai, e-e ! 

Homai ka ai, 

Homai ho'i ka ai, e-e! 

I ai'na aku ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Cranky, cranky the bridge, 
Bridge across the Wai-luku ! 
Upset is Apua; 
Maukele declares that 
The barter of food is naught. 
Give us then of your food; 
Give us something to eat; 
Let us partake of your meat. 

To this unusual demand they replied, "Indeed, do you imagine 
we will do any such thing as that? It is not for us to give to 
you; you must give us the fare before you cross on our bridge. 
We don't give away things for nothing." 

Hiiaka replied by repeating her request in nearly the same 
words : 

Ka-huli-huH, e-e, 

Ka papa o Wai-luku. 

He ole ke kaha kuai i'a, e ! 



(a) Wai-luku, water of destruction. 

(&) Mo'o-puna, a grandchild, nephew or niece. 

(c) Kahuli-huU. Kahuli, or its intensive, kahuU-huU, primarily means 
to upset, to overturn. A secondary meaning, much employed in the argot 
of hula folk, is to hand over, to pass this way ; as when one gfuest at table 
might say to a neighbor, "hand me the salt (if you please)." 



58 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ho-mai ka i'a; 

Ho-mai ana, ho'i, ka i'a, 

I ai'na aku, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Unstable the bridge, 
Bridge that spans the Wai-luku. 
This barter of fish is a fraud- 
Give us of your fish ; 
Grant us kindly some meat; 
Give us something to eat. 

Hiaaka repeated her demands in varying form with no other 
effect than to make the toll-keepers more stubborn in their 
ridiculous demands. Not even when Hiiaka, as if to cap the 
climax of their absurdity, ended her demand with this ironical 
request : 

Ho-mai, ho'i, ka wai, e; 
I inu ia aku, ho'i, e ! ! 

TRANSLATION 

Give us of this water. 
Give us water to drink! 

Hiiaka now openly denounced the two sorcerers as being 
simply mo'o in disguise, entirely wanting in those generous feel- 
ings that belong to godhood. "These creatures are simply mo'o. 
If I attack them, they will run for their lives-" 

The people, failing to recognize Hiiaka as their deliverer, 
spiritless from long habituation to the fraudulent dominion of 
these imposters, fearful also of their vengeance, stoutly opposed 
Hiiaka, affirming that Pili-a-mo'o and Noho-a-mo'o were gods 
in reality, having great power and capable of doing many won- 
derful things. They declared their readiness to back their opinion 
with their property, yes, with their lives. They were at length 
persuaded, however, to accept as decisive the test proposed by 
Hiiaka, namely, that, if they fled when attacked, they should 
cease to be regarded as gods and should be dealt with as im- 
posters. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 59 

True to Hiiaka's prediction, the mo'o, in abject fear, turned 
and fled for their Hves at her first threatening move and she now 
called upon the people to pursue and destroy them: 

Kaumaha ka a'i o Hilo i ka lehua 

Mai ka Nuku-o-ka-manu(a) a Puna-hoa, e. 

Hoa ia iho la kau kanaka, 

I pa'a, o pahe'e auane'i; 

Hina i ka Lua-kanaka. 

He kanaka ! He mau akua, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The neck of Hilo is heavy, 

Weighted with wreaths of lehua 

From Bird-beak clean down to the feet. 

Catch and bind these robbers of men ; 

Bind them fast, lest they slip through your hands 

And escape to the robber-pit — 

These mortals, who call themselves gods! 

The meaning of the figure in the first two verses, though ob- 
scure, seems to be that Hilo, so rich in natural bea,uty, is by that 
very fact robbed of the energy to defend herself and cast off 
the incubus that oppresses her. 

As the creatures fled from Hiiaka's pursuit, their human dis- 
guise fell from them and their real character as mo'o was evident. 

"We've committed a great blunder," said Pili-a-mo'o to his 
mate. "It looks as if she meant to kill us. Let us apologize 
for our mistake and conciliate her with fair words-" 

Noho-a-mo'o agreed to this and, turning to Hiiaka, made this 
wheedling speech: 

Kupu maikai a'e la 

Ka wahine o ka Lua; 

Ua ia iho la e ka ua, 

A kilinahe ka maka o ka lehua ma-uka. 

Ma-uka oe e hele ai. 

Ma ka hoauau wai. 

E waiho ke ala no maua. 

No na kupuna, e. 

(o) Nuku-0-ka-manu, literally, the beak of the bird; said to be a cape 
in the neighborhood of Hilo. 



60 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

She has grown a fine figure, 

Our girl from the Fire-pit. 

The plentiful rain has made bright 

This bud of upland lehua- 

Pray choose your road farther inland; 

That way will offer good fordage — 

This road leave to your ancient kin. 

Hiiaka spared not, but pursued them to their cavernous rock- 
heaps in which they thought to hide themselves, and, having 
seized them, rent them asunder jaw from jaw. Thus did Hiiaka 
add one more to the score of her victories in the extermination 
of the mo'o. 



CHAPTER XIV 
HHAKA MEETS MOTHER-GRUNDY 

It was at this point of the journey that Hiiaka lost the attend- 
ance of her sympathetic companion and faithful servant, Pau-o- 
pala'e. She was persuaded to unite her fortunes with those of 
a man from Kohala named Pa-ki'i; and we must leave unan- 
swered the question, how she finally settled with Pele this ap- 
parent desertion of the trust with which she had been charged, 
that of acting as aide, kahu, to Hiiaka. Wahine-oma'o now re- 
mains as the sole companion of Hiiaka in her future adventures. 

On resuming the journey they came before long to the broad 
stream of Honolii, which was swimming deep and, in the lack 
of other means of crossing, they bundled their clothes, held 
them above their heads with one hand and easily made the op- 
posite shore by swimming with the aid of the other hand. 

At the sight of this performance, the ghost-god, Hina-hina- 
ku-i-ka-pali and her companion, in a spirit of pure fault-finding 
and Mother-Grundyism, exclaimed: 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 61 

Popo ke kapa o ka wahine, 

Au kohana wai, hoauau wai o Honoli'i. 

E kapu oCj he mau alii; 

He mau alii no, o Hina-hina-ku-i-ka-pali. 

TRANSLATION 

The women bundle their garments 
And, naked, they swim the stream, 
The water of Hono-li'i — 
An action quite unseemly: 
'Tis a slur on your noble rank, 
I too am a chief, my name 
Hina-hina-gem-of-the-cliff- 

"For shame!" said Hiiaka. "These ghost-gods have been 
spying on our nakedness, and now they make sport of us." 

A great fear came upon the ghosts, that the dread goddess 
would seize them and pinch out their atomy spark of existence. 
In their terror, they flew home and, perched on the shoulders of 
their mother, besought her to interpose in their behalf and ap- 
pease Hiiaka by a suitable offering of luau. 

"There burns a fire," said Wahine-oma'o, as they drew near 
the house. 

"The fire of the ovens built by the ghosts," Hiiaka answered. 
"They have saved themselves from death." 

By the time they reached the house the luau was done to a 
turn and the tables were spread. Wahine-oma'o made an obla- 
tion to the gods and then ate of the viands. Hiiaka did not par- 
take of the food. 

Hiiaka now spent several days at Hono-kane, in Kohala, 
anxiously awaiting the departure of some canoe, by which she 
might pass over to the island of Maui. While thus absorbed, in 
a sentimental mood, looking one day across the ocean at the 
misty outline of the distant land, she saw a man of remarkable 
appearance strike out from one headland of the bay to swim 
to the opposite point. Her admiration for his physical beauty 
and his daring performance drew from her a song : 

I i au, e au ma kai o ka hula ana. 
Kai-ko'o a'e la lalo o ka pali ; 



62 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Piho-piho a'e; lele ke kai o Maka'u-kiu; 
Au hopohopo ana i ka loa o Hono-kane-iki. 
I kane oe a i wahine au. 

TRANSLATION 

My heart beats high at your venture — 

To buffet the raging sea ! 

Wild heave the waves 'neath the diff-wall. 

To be whelmed by Ocean's might — 

The ocean of Maka'u~kiu ! 

My heart forgets to beat at sight 

Of your rashness, Hono-kane! 

Would you were the man, the woman I ! 

Hono-kane heard, of course, the words that were uttered in 
his praise and, being a man of chivalrous instincts as well as of 
honor, he invited Hiiaka and Wahine-oma'o to enjoy the hos- 
pitalities of his home. 

As they sat at a feast spread in her honor, Hiiaka, as was her 
wont, bowed her head in prayer with closed eyes, and the others 
did likewise and when they opened their eyes and looked, the 
portion that had been set before Hiiaka was gone, spirited away. 

In the evening it was announced that a canoe was to sail in 
the early morning on a voyage to Maui, whereupon Hiiaka se- 
cured the promise of a passage for herself and Wahine-oma'o- 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 63 

CHAPTER XV 
THE VOYAGE TO MAUI 

Hiiaka's voyage across the Ale-nui-haha channel, considered 
merely as a sea adventure, was a tame experience. There was 
no storm, no boistrous weather, sea as calm as a mill-pond, noth- 
ing to fillip the imagination with a sense of excitement or dan- 
ger; yet it was far from being an agreeable experience to the 
young woman who was now having her first hand-to-hand tussle 
with the world. 

They had spent the night at the house of one Pi'i-ke-a-nui. In 
the early morning their host and a younger man — apparently 
his son — named Pi'i-ke-a-iki, made ready their canoe to sail for 
Maui. Hiiaka, assuming that passage would be granted both 
of them, in accordance with a promise made the previous day, 
stood ready against the hour of departure. At the last moment, 
the younger man, having assisted Wahine-oma'o to her seat in 
the bow next to himself, called to his elder, "Pi'i-ke-a-nui, why 
don't you show your passenger to her seat, the one next you?" 

"I won't do it," Pi'i-ke-a-nui answered groutily. 'T find that 
the canoe will be overloaded if we take passengers aboard and 
all our landlord's freight will get wet." 

The real reason for this volte-face on the part of the old sailor 
was that he had made an unseemly proposition to Hiiaka the 
night before and she had repelled him. 

Wahine-oma'o, thereupon, left her seat and the canoe started 
without them. It was not more than fairly underway, however, 
when a violent sea struck the craft and swamped it, and all the 
loose freight was floating about in the ocean. 

"There, you see! We'd 'ave had better luck with the women 
aboard-" Such was the exclamation of Pi'i-ke-a-iki. 

It did not take long to convince the old man Pi'i-ke-a-nui, who 
was captain of the canoe, that he had invited this disaster on 
himself, the agent of which, as he rightly suspected, was none 
other than the distinguished-looking young woman who now 
stood on the beach watching him in his predicament with unper- 
turbed countenance. 

The two men floated their canoe, collected their baggage and 
came ashore. When they had got the stuflf dry and stowed in 
the waist of the craft, they escorted the women aboard, seating 
Wahine-oma'o, as directed by the captain, in the bow near Pi'i- 



64 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

ke-a-iki and Hiiaka in the after part, within arm's length of 
Pi'i-ke-a-nui, and they put to sea. 

The canoe was a small affair, unprovided with that central 
platform, the pola, that might serve as the cabin or quarter deck, 
on which the passengers could stretch themselves for comfort- 
In her weariness, Hiiaka, with her head toward the bow, re- 
clined her body against the top rail of the canoe, thus eking out 
the insufficiency of the narrow thwart that was her seat; and 
she fell asleep, or rather, entered that border-land of Nod, in 
which the central watchman has not yet given over control of 
the muscular system and the ear still maintains its aerial recon- 
noissance. 

The wind, meanwhile, as it caromed aft from the triangular 
sail of mat, coquetted with her tropical apparel and made pau and 
kihei shake like summer leaves. 

The steersman, in whom that precious factor, a chivalrous 
regard for woman, was even of less value than is common to 
the savage breast, in the pursuit of a fixed purpose, began to 
direct amorous glances at the prostrate form before him and 
to the neglect of his own proper duties. Presently he left his 
steering and stole up to Hiiaka with privy paw outstretched. 
Hiiaka roused from her half-dreamy state on the instant, and 
the man sprang back and resumed his paddle. 

Hiiaka, with the utmost coolness, expressed in song her re- 
monstrance and sarcastic rebuke for this exhibition of inhos- 
pitable rudeness: 

A Hono-ma-ele au, i Hono-ka-lani, 

Ike au i ka ua o ko'u aina, 

E halulu ana, me he kanaka la — 

Ka ua ku a-o-a i kai. 

Haki kaupaku o ka hale i ka ino, e ! 

Ino Ko'o-lau, ino Ko'o-lau, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

With pillowed neck I lay, face to heaven: 
The rain, I found, beat on my bed ; 
Came a tremor, like tread of a man — 
The slap of a rain-squall at sea; 
Within, the roof -tree broken down, 
My house exposed to the storm. 
My garden of herbs laid waste ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 65 

The young man added his protest: "Yes, his whole conduct 
is, indeed, shameful, scandalous. He hasn't the decency to wait 
till he gets ashore." 

In the midst of this unpleasantness it was a comfort to hear 
the strong cheerful voice of her former companion Pau-o-pala'e 
calling to her across the stretch of waters. It will be remem- 
bered that their roads had parted company sometime before 
Hiiaka had left the big island. The separation had made no 
change, however, in their mutual affection: 

O hele ana oe, e ka noe, e ka awa, 
E na ki a Wahine-kapu, 
E ka ua lele a'e maluna 
O Ka-la-hiki-ola, la: 

hele ana, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Like a cloud you fleet by. 
On the wings of the storm — 
Vision of womanly tabu — 
Of the rain-clouds that sweep 
O'er the Hill-of-good-luck : 
May you speed on your way ! 

Hiiaka replied to her kahu's mele in these words : 

A noho ana, 
E na hoaiku, 
E na hoa haele, 

1 uka o Ka-li'u-la, 
I Moe-awakea. 

TRANSLATION 

Kinsmen, allies, travel-mates, 
You rest in upland Ka-li'u; 
There taste you midday repose. 

Perhaps it was that Hiiaka failed to manifest in her carriage 
and dep'ortment the dignity and tabu that hedges in an alii or 
an akua; perhaps the rough hearted Pi'i-ke-a-nui, sailor- fashion, 
deemed himself outside the realm of honor which rules on land. 



66 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

However that might be, as Hiiaka lay decently covered against 
the cold wind that drew down the flank of Hale-a-ka-la, this 
rude fellow, regardless of every punctilio, stole up to Hiiaka 
and repeated his former attempt- Hiiaka caught his hand in 
mid air and administered this rebuke : 

O Ka-uwiki, mauna ki'eki'e, 
Huki a'e la a pa i ka lani : 
He po'o-hiwi no kai halulu ; 
Au ana Moku-hano i ke kai — 
He maka no Hana, 
O maka kilo i'a. 
O kou maka kunou, a, 
Ua hopu-hia. 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-uwiki, famous in story, 
While buffeting ocean's blows, 
Aspires to commerce with heaven. 
Moku-hano's palms, that float 
Like a boat in the water. 
Are watchful eyes to Hana, 
Alert for the passing school: 
Your wanton vagrant eye 
Is caught in the very act. 

The canoe grated on the shingly beach. The two young 
women, rejoiced to be free at last from the enforced proximity 
of ship-board, sprang ashore and with speedy steps put a distance 
between themselves and the canoe-house. "That's right," called 
out the steersman. "Make haste to find a bath. We'll join you 
in a short time." 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 67 



CHAPTER XVI 

KAPO-ULA-KINA'U, A RELATIVE OF HIIAKA — THE 
MAIMED GIRL MANA-MANA-IA-KALU-EA 

The canoe-men, having used their utmost expedition in land- 
ing the freight and hauHng up the canoe and getting it under 
cover, hastened to meet the two women at the rendezvous they 
had suggested. But they were nowhere to be found. They 
had disappeared as completely as though the earth had swal- 
lowed them up- When Pi'i-ke-a-nui asked the people of the 
village as to the whereabouts of the two young women who 
had just now landed as passengers from the canoe, they one and 
all denied having set eyes upon them. 

Hiiaka had planned a visit with her sister Kapo; but, on 
reaching Wailuku, the house was empty; Kapo and her husband 
Pua-nui had but just started to make a ceremonious call on Ole- 
pau, a famous chief of the district. The receding figure of Kapo 
was already hazy in the distance, so that it seemed more than 
doubtful if the words of Hiiaka's message reached the ears for 
which they were intended: 

He ahui hala(a) ko Kapo-ula-kina'u,(&) 

Ko ka pili kaumaha ; 

I ka pili a hala, la, ha-la! 

Hala olua, aohe makamaka o ka hale 

E kipa aku ai la ho'i i ko hale, 

I kou hale, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

The clustered hala is Kapo's shield, 
An omen portending disaster. 

(a) Hala. The fruit of the hala was so often worn in the form of a 
wreath by Kapo that it came to be looked upon almost as her emblem. To 
ordinary mortals this practice savored of bad luck. If a fisherman traveling 
on his way to the ocean were to meet a person wearing a lei of this de- 
scription he would feel compelled to turn back and give over his excursion 
for that day. In this instance Kapo was on her way to visit a sick man — 
a bad omen for him. 

(ft) Kapo-ula-kina'u. This was the full name of Kapo, who was one 
of the goddesses of the kahunas who practiced anaana {po'e kahuna 
anaana). TJla-Tcina'u is a term applied to a feather cloak or cape made of 
yellow feathers which had in them black spots. 



68 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

The traveler came in your absence; 
Both of you gone, no one at home — 
No lodge for the traveler within, 
No hospitality within ! 

Here is another version of this rnele by Hiiaka (furnished by 
Pelei-oholani)- As the version previously given is confessedly 
imperfect, in part conjectural, there having been several hiatuses 
in the text, I think it well to give an authorized version, though 
very different: 

He ahui hala na ka makani:(a) 
Hala ka ua,(&) noho i na paH, e — 
I ka pali aku i Pua-lehei,(c) e. 
Loli iho la, pulu elo i ka ua, e. 
Aohe makamaka e kipa aku ai 
I kou hale, e; 

E noho ana i ke kai o Kapeku ; 
E hoolono i ka uwalo, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

A hala bunch, snatched by the wind 
That blows from the medicine man, 
Pushing the rain to Pua-lehei: 
Cold is the traveler and soaking wet. 
No friend to give welcome and cheer; 
House empty — gone to the seashore; 
No one to heed my entreaty. 

As Hiiaka passed along the cliff that overlooks the wave- 
swept beach at Hono-lua, a pitiful sight met her eye, the figure 
of a woman crippled from birth — without hands. Yet, in spite 
of her maimed condition, the brave spirit busied herself gather- 
ing shell-fish ; and when a tumbling wave rolled across the beach 
she made herself a partner in its sport and gleefully retreated, 
skipping and dancing to the words of a song: 

(a) Makani. The reference is to the halitus, spirit, or influence that 
was supposed to rest upon and take possession of one obsessed, even as the 
tongues of fire rested upon the multitude in Pentecostal times. Kapo her- 
self had this power. 

(b) Ua, literally, rain, is by a much employed figure of speech used to 
mean the guests or people of a house. Thus, if one sees a great number 
of guests arriving to share the hospitality of a house, he might say, "kuaua 
ua nui Jio'i keia e hele mai net." 

(c) Pua-lehei, a pali mauka of V^ai-he'e. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 69 

Aloha wale ka i'a lamalama o ku'u aina, la, 
Ka i'a kahiko pu no me ka wahine. 
Lilo ke hoa, ko'eko'e ka po; 
Akahi kona la o aloha mai, e-e! 
Aloha Kona, ku'u aina i ka pohu, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

How dear the torch-caught fish of my home-land, 
The fish embraced by the women folk ! 
Gone one's companion, chill grows the night: 
Love cheered for a day, then flew away. — 
Oh Kona, thou land of peace and of calm! 

Search for the hidden meaning of this oli has brought out a 
marvellous diversity of opinion. The chief difficulty lies in the 
interpretation of the second verse : Ka i'a kahiko pu no me ka 
wahine, and centers in the expression kahiko pu. One able critic 
finds in it an allusion to the cooperation of women with the men 
in the work of fishing. Kahiko is a word of dignity meaning 
finely apparelled. The addition of the preposition pu amplifies 
it and gives it almost the meaning of wrapped together. It 
seems probable also that the word i'a, literally fish, is to be taken 
in an esoteric sense as a euphemism for man. Putting this in- 
terpretation upon it, the meaning of the expression kahiko pu 
becomes clear as being wrapped together, as in the sexual 
embrace- 

Wahine-oma'o was greatly fascinated by the pathos and 
romance of the situation and declared she would like to have 
her for an aikane, an intimate friend- 

Hiiaka replied, "Maimed folk seem to be very numerous in 
these parts." 

The maimed girl kept up her fishing, her light-hearted dan- 
cing and singing: 

Ua ino Hono-kohau; he Ulu-au nui ka makani; 

Ke ha'iha'i la i ka lau o ka awa- 

La'i pono ai ke kai o Hono-lua, 

E hele ka wahine i ke kapa kahakai, 

Ku'i-ku'i ana i ka opihi, 

Wa'u-wa'u ana i kana limu, 

O Mana-mana-ia-kaluea, 

Ka wahine ua make, e-e! 



70 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

Rough weather at Hono-kohau; 

The Ulu-au blows a gale; 

It snaps off the leaves of the awa, 

But the sea lies calm at Hono-lua 

And the woman can fish along shore, 

Pounding her shell-fish, rubbing her moss — 

This maimed girl Kalu-e-a, 

The girl that is dead. 

As the wild thing ran from the dash of an incoming wave, 
by some chance the gourd that held her fish slipped from her 
and the retreating water carried it beyond her reach, a loss that 
she lightly touched in her song: 

Ha'a ka lau o ka i'a ; 

Ha'a ka lima i ke po'i ; 

Ha'a ke olohe(a) i ke awakea: 

Kina'i aku la i ke kai, la. 

Lilo ka i'a, lilo ka i'a 

I ka welelau o ku'u lima, 

A hlo, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

My fish are adance on the waves: 
My hand just danced from the basket: 
The skilled (a) one dances at noontide 
And deafens the roar of ocean. 
Gone are my fish, lost out of hand. 
Snatched clean away from my hand-stumps; 
They are gone, gone, gone from my hand ! 

There was a shark lurking in the ocean and when Mana- 
mana-ia-kalu-ea saw it she uttered a little song: 

ka i'a iki maka inoino, 
Ihu me'ume'u o ka moana; 
Ke a'u lele 'ku o kai, 

1 ka puo'a o kai uli, e. 

Auwe, pau au i ka mano nui, e! ! 

(o) Olohe, an expert in the hula. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 71 

TRANSLATION 

Little fish with wicked eye; 
Snub-nosed fish that swims the deep ; 
Sworded fish that darts and stabs 
Among the blue sea coral-groves — 
Alas, the shark has done for me, 
The mighty shark, mine enemy ! 

Wahine-oma'o could not repress her admiration for the girl 
and her desire to have her as an aikane (an intimate friend) ; 
and she was full of regret that their presence on the cliff had 
driven away the fish and interfered with the girl's occupation. 

"The figure you see dancing down there is not a human body ; 
it is only a spirit," said Hiiaka. 

"What!" 

"Yes, only a spirit, and I'll prove it in this way," she plucked 
a hala drupe from a wreath about her neck; — "I'll throw this 
down to her; and if she flies away, it will prove she is a spirit; 
but, if she does not disappear, it will prove her to be a human 
body." 

- Hiiaka threw the hala, and the moment the poor soul saw it 
fall in front of her she vanished out of sight. But in a short 
time she reappeared and, seizing the hala with her fingerless 
hand-stumps, she pressed it to her nose with an extravagant dis- 
play of fondness and, looking up to Hiiaka, she chanted : 

No luna ka hala, e; 
Onini pua i'a i ke kai. 
No Pana-ewa ka hala e ; 
No Puna ka wahine — 
No ka Lua, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

The hala, tossed down from the clifiP, 
Ruflfs the sea like a school of sprats : 
The hala's from Pana-ewa, 
The Woman's homeland is Puna — 
That wonderful Pit of Puna! 

The loss of her fish still weighed upon the mind of Mana- 



72 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

mana-ia-kaluea. Sitting down on a convenient rock, she mourned 
aloud : 

Aloha wale ka pali o Pi-na-na'i, 

Ka lae iHili ma-kai o Hono-manu, e! 

He u ko'u, he minamina, e-e, 

I ka lilo ka i'a i ka poho o ka lima — 

A lilo, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

How dear the cliff of Pi-na-na'i, 
And the pebbly cape at Hono-manu ! — 
How I mourn for the loss of my fish! 
They were swept from the reach of my hand ; 
They are gone, forever gone! 

Mana-mana-ia-kalu-ea, sitting on the rock, wrapped in her 
own little garment of trouble, seemed for the moment quite 
oblivious to the presence of Hiiaka, who was intently watching 
her. Suddenly she looked up and, with brightening eye, ex- 
claimed, "I know where you are from:" 

A Pu'u-lena, i Wahine-kapu i pua, e, 
A ilalo o Hale-ma'u-ma'u, e: 
Nolaila, e; nolaila paha, e! 

TRANSLATION 

The land of Wahine-kapu, 

The land of the Pu'u-lena, 

Exhaled from the depths of the Pit — 

The fire-pit Hale-ma'u-ma'u — 

It comes to me: that is your home! 

Hiiaka had conceived a strong prejudice against the girl almost 
from the first, but now she softened and, turning to Wahine- 
oma'o, said, "If you really want this girl for an aikane, I think 
it can be managed. The only trouble will be to hold her after 
she is caught." 

Hiiaka, using her magical power, caught the spirit of Mana- 
mana-ia-kalu-ea and, in the lack of a more suitable receptacle, 
they wrapped it carefully in the free end of Wahine-oma'o's 
loin-cloth and went on their way, traveling towards Wailuku. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 7Z 



CHAPTER XVII 

HIIAKA RESTORES TO LIFE MANA-MANA-IA- 
KALU-EA 

As they drew near Wailuku, they crossed a sandy plain dotted 
with tumuli. At once the captive spirit of Mana-mana-ia-kalu-ea 
became restless, as if eager to be free. "We are nearing the 
place where rests its body," explained Hiiaka. Wahine-oma'o 
by soft words and gentle touch did her best to soothe the per- 
turbed thing. 

It might almost be said that the captive spirit of Mana-mana- 
ia-kalu-ea was the guide (acting like the magnetic needle to 
point the way) to the home where the as-yet uncorrupted body 
of the girl still lay, mourned over by her parents.. 

It was with much prayer and the use of persuasive force that 
Hiiaka compelled the seemingly reluctant spirit to reenter its 
bodily tenement and to take up its abode there. As it passed from 
its point of entrance at the toe up into the chest its progress 
was marked by a kindling warmth that gave the assurance that 
the spirit was resuming its empiry over the whole body. 

The first request made by the girl, on regaining full con- 
sciousness, was that her parents would prepare a feast as a 
thank-offering to Hiiaka, her physician, her deliverer. The 
special articles on which she was most insistent were luau and 
baked aoaoa\a) 

When it came to the final dressing of the luau for the table, 
namely the stripping off of the outer leafy covering from the 
scalding hot mass within — an operation which the girl in- 
sisted on doing with her own newly restored hands — Hiiaka 
watched her critically; for the proper etiquette of the function 
was most punctilious. But Hiiaka could find no fault with her 
technique: there was no slip, no solecism, no blowing on her 
fingers to relieve the scalding heat, as she stripped off the wrap- 
pings of the bundles. 

When the feast was set and all were gathered about the tables, 
at Hiiaka's command all bowed their heads with closed eyes and 
she offered up her prayer to the gods of heaven. At the con- 
clusion of her prayer, when they looked, lo, the portion of the 
feast set apart for the gods had vanished without leaving a trace 

(o) Aoaoa, an imitative word, meaning dog. 



74 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

behind. On this occasion Hiiaka was seen to eat of the food 
that was provided for her. (6) 

The Hne of travel now chosen by Hiiaka was that along the 
northern or Koolau side of the island of Maui and led them at 
first through a barren stretch of country called a kaha, the food- 
supply of which came from a distance. It was here that Wahine- 
oma'o began to complain bitterly of hunger and exhaustion from 
the lack of food, and she besought Hiiaka to intercede with 
the people of a neighboring fishing village to give them some- 
thnig to eat. 

*'How is this, that you are a-hungered so soon after the feast 
of which you have partaken ? This is a kaha," said Hiiaka, "and 
yau must know that food does not grow in this place. They 
have only fish from the sea. Nevertheless, I will venture the 
request." This she did in the language of song: 

Ke kahulihuli a ka papa o Wailuku ; 
He ole ke kaha kuai ai, e: 
Ho-mai he ai ; 
Ho-mai ana ua ai, e! 

TRANSLATION 

As trembles the plank at Wailuku 
(So trembles the fate of the king) : 
There's no market where to buy meat; 
Give the stranger, then, something to eat : 
Give us, I pray, of your meat. 

Some of the people derided them, saying, ''Mahaoi !" — what 
impudence! Others, with kindness in their tones, explained, 
"This is a barren place; and all of our food comes from a great 
distance." The churlish ones, however, kept up their taunts: 
"You won't get any food in this place. Go up there ;" and they 
pointed in the direction of lao valley, where was the residence 
of King Ole-pau. 

During the whole of the day, while tramping through this 

(&) The most acceptable bonne bouche that could be offered to Pele, or 
to Hiiaka, by way of refreshment, was the tender leaf of the taro plant. 
We of this day and generation eat it when cooked under the name of lu-au. 
In the old old times, when the gods walked on the earth, it was acceptable 
in the raw state under the name of paha; but, when cooked, it was called 
pe'u. The word luau seems to be modern. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 75 

region, Hiiaka had observed from time to time a ghostly object 
flitting across the plain within hearing distance and in a direc- 
tion parallel to their course. Though this spirit was not visible 
to ordinary mortal eye, Hiiaka recognized it as the second soul 
of Ole-pau, the very chief to whom the people of the fishing 
village had bid her make her appeal for food. Hiiaka, putting 
two and#two together, very naturally came to the conclusion 
that this vagrant kino wailua was, in the last resort, responsible 
for this denial of hospitality to herself and her companion. Act- 
ing on this conclusion, Hiiaka made a captive of the vagrant 
soul and determined to hold it as a hostage for the satisfaction 
of her reasonable demands. 

On coming within speaking distance of the house where lived 
the woman Wai-hinano, who ostentatiously played the part of 
kahu and chief adviser to Ole-pau, Hiiaka made known her 
wish, concluding her appeal with ominous threats against the 
life of the king, in case her demands were not met: 

E Wai-hinano, wahine a ka po'ipo'i,(o) e, 
Ua make ke alii,(&) ka mea nona nei moku. 
He pua'a kau(c) ka uku no Moloka'i ; 
He ilio lohelohe(c?) Lana'i; 
A pale ka A-a ka Kanaloa;(^) 
He puo'a kai Molokini: 
HuH ka ele(/) o na Hono; 



(a) Po'ipo'i. Po'i uhane, soul catching, was one of the tricks of Ha- 
waiian black art and sorcery. 

(6) There seems to be a disagreement in the different versions as to 
who is the king with whom Hiiaka is now contending, whether Ole-pau or 
Ka-ula-hea. For historical reasons I deem it to be Ole-pau, unless, indeed, 
the two names represent the same person. 

(c) Kau, offered, literally put upon the altar. 

id) Lohelohe, By some inadvertence, this word was wrongly written as 
JcoheTcohe, and I was cudgelling my wits and searching heaven and earth, 
and all the dictionaries, to learn the meaning of this artifact, this false 
thing. After having vainly inquired of more than a score of Hawalians, 
one man, wiser than the rest, suggested that it should be lohelohe, not 
kohekohe, meaning underdone, or half-baked dog. The word-fit was perfect; 
the puzzle was solved. 

(e) Kanaloa, a name given to Kaho'olawe, the island that faces East 
Maui, lying opposite to Lahaina, and acts as a sort of buffer against the 
blasts of the south wind, allusion to which is made, as I believe, in the 
word A-a, in the same line. 

if) Ele. Some critics vlaim that ka and ele properly form one word 
ikaele), meaning overturned. The grammatical construction of the sen- 
tence forbids this claim, and favors the interpretation I have given it. 
The figure is that of a canoe whose black body has turned turtle. 



76 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

Haki kepakepa na moku; 

Pa'iauma(^) ka aina; 

Uwe kamali'i, uwe ka hanehane — 

Ke uwe la i ka pili,(/^) 

I ke kula o Ka-ma'o-ma'o;(/) 

Ka'a kumakena o Maui, e ! 

la wai Maui? 

TRANSLATION 

O Waihinano, thou soul-grabber, 

Dead is the king of this island ; 

Moloka'i shall offer a boar; 

Lana'i's a half-baked dog; 

Kanaloa fends off the A-a ; 

Molokini buffets the waves. 

The ship of state turns turtle: 

What wailing and beating of breast ! 

Wild anguish of child and of ghost 

O'er the sandy plain of Kama'o. 

The districts are frenzied with grief — 

Tearing of hair and breaking of teeth — 

One wail that lifts to heaven. 

Who shall be heir to this Maui land? 

To this the sorceress, Waihinano, answered pertly : 

la Ole-pau, ia ka Lani, ke Alii, 

Ka-uhi-lono-honua ; 

O Ka-uhi-kapu ia a Kama, 

A Kama-lala-walu : 

O ke alii kahiko i hanau ia ai a Kiha — 

O Ka-ula-hea nui o ka Lani: 

laia Maui. 

(gr) Pa'iaum.a. This is a word that has presented some difficulties in 
the discovery of its meaning. The reference, I believe, is to breast-beating 
practiced by persons distracted with grief. Vma, the final part of the word, 
I take to be the shortened form of wmawma, the bosom. 

ih) Pili, to meet, the point or line of meeting, the boundaries of a land, 
therefore, the whole land. 

(i) Ka-ma'o-ma'o, the name given to the sandy plain between Kahului 
and Wailuku, Maui. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 11 

TRANSLATION 

To Ole-pau, the heavenly, the King, 
In line from deep-rooted Kauhi — 
Sacred Kauhi of Kama was he — 
Kama, the sire of eight branches — 
Of the ancient stock of Kiha, 
And Ka-ula-hea, the great king: 
Maui belongs to him. 



To this Hiiaka retorted 



Ua make ia: 

Ke ha'i mai nei na Wahine 

I ka Hikina La ma Puna, 

O na Wahine i ka La o Ha'eha'e, 

O na Wahine i ka La o Ku-ki'i, 

Ako lehua o Kua-o-ka-la, 

Walea wai o ka Milo-holu, 

Kui pua lei o Ma-H'o — 

O Pele-honua-mea i ka Lua ; 

O Hiiaka i ka alawa maka o Wakea : 

Ke i mai nei Haumea, 

He kalawa ka ma'i a puni : 

Ua make ! 

TRANSLATION 

The sentence of death is affirmed 
By the women — the gods — who tend 
On the rising Sun of Puna, 
Are Sun-guards at Ha'e-ha'e, 
Pluck lehua-bloom at Kuki'i, 
Rejoice in the stream Milo-holu 
String the flower- wreaths of Mali'o — 
Confirmed by Pele, God of the Pit — 
Once heir to the sacred South-land, 
And by Hiiaka, her shadow. 
Gleam shot from the eye of Wakea. 
Thus saith the goddess Haumea: 
Great torment, fever and swelling 
Shall scorch and rack him to death! 



78 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

The woman Wai-hinano replied to Hiiaka with great spirit 
and temper: 

Aole e make ku'u ahi ia oe : 

Ke hoole mai nei na 'kua wahine o ia nei, 

O Ha-pu'u,(a) laua o Ka-lei-hau-ola,(&) 

O na 'kua nana i lapu Hawaii a puni : 

Oia ho'i ka i a ke Akua : 

Ke hoole mai nei, aole e make ! 

TRANSLATION 

My king shall not die by your arts : 
His witch-gods deny you the power — 
Ha-pu'u and Ka-lei-hau-ola ; — 
They peopled Hawaii with ghosts : 
The voice of the gods, the king's gods, 
Declares that he shall not die! 

The situation was peculiar: while Ka-ula-hea (in the narra- 
tive sometimes called Ole-pau) lay asleep, his second soul, kino 
wailua, deserting its post of duty as life-guard over the bodily 
tenement, had stolen away in pursuit of its own pleasures. It 
was this very kino wailua that Hiiaka had seen flanking her 
own route, as it flitted through the fields, and which she had 
caught and now held fast in her hand like a fluttering moth, a 
hostage answerable for his misbehaviour and disregard of the 
rites of hospitality. Its possession gave Hiiaka complete power 
over the life of the king. It was no empty vaunt when Hiiaka 
again declared in song: 

Aohe kala i make ai ; 

Ua pu-a ia na iwi ; 

Ua akua(c) ka ai a ka ilo! 

TRANSLATION 

King death has gripped him ere this ; 
His bones already are bundled ; 
The worms — they batten like gods ! 

While Wai-hinano was listening to these awful words of 

(a), (&). Female deities of necromancy. 

(c) Ahua, literally, a god, or godlike, i.e., in an awe-inspiring manner. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 79 

Hiiaka she was dumbfounded by the tidings that Ka-ula-hea had 
waked from seemingly peaceful sleep in great perturbation, and 
that he had been seized with the most alarming and distressful 
symptoms. In her distraction and rage she still maintained a 
defiant attitude: 

Aohe make ku'u alii ia oe ! 

Ke hoole mai nei na akua kane o ia nei, 

Ke-olo-ewa(&) nui a Kama-ua,(c) 
He mana, he ui-ui, a-a, 

He ana leo no ke Alii, 

E ai ana i ka pua'a o Ulu-nui,(c?) 

1 ka lala Me-ha'i-kana,(e) 
Hoole o Uli, akua o ia nei, 

E hoole mai ana, aohe e make! 

TRANSLATION 

My lord shall succumb not to you ! 
The gods of the King affirm it — 
Olo-ewa, son of the Rain-god, 
Gifted with power and with counsel, 
His voice rings out clear for the King: 
He shall eat the fat of the swine. 
Pluck the fruit of the bread-tree : Uli, 
A god ever true to the king, 
Declares that he shall not die. 

(b) Ke-olo-ewa, an akua Tci'i, i.e., a god of whom an image was fash- 
ioned. Some form of cloud was recognized as his body (Ke-ao-lewa(?) ). 
One of his functions was rain-producing. Farmers prayed to him : "Send 
rain to my field ; never mind the others." S. Percy Smith of New Zealand 
(in a letter to Professor W. D. Alexander) says that in Maori legend Te 
Orokewa, also called Poporokewa, was one of the male apa, guardians and 
messengers of lo, the supreme god who presided over the 8th heaven. 

According to Hawaiian tradition Ke-olo-ewa was, as Pomander has it, 
the second son of Kamauaua, a superior chief, or king of Moloka'i, and 
succeeded his father in the kingship of that island. His brother, Kau- 
pe'e-pe'e-nui-kauila, it was who stole away Hina, the beautiful wife of 
Haka-lani-leo of Hilo, and secreted her on the famous promontory of 
Haupu on Moloka'i. For the story of this interesting tradition see For- 
nander's "The Polynesian Race," Vol. II, p. 31. After death he became 
deified and was prayed to as a rain god. 

(c) Kama-ua, literally, the son of rain. 

(d) TJlu-nui, meaning the crop-giver. This was the name of a king, or 
chief of Makawao, Maui, under whom agriculture greatly flourished. 

(e) Me-haH-hana, the goddess of the bread-fruit tree; said to be one 
with Papa. 



80 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

After each incantation that Hiiaka had uttered against Ka- 
ula-hea that king's disorder had flared up in more alarming pro- 
portions, and he cried out in agony and despair. But it was 
equally true that just as often as Wai-hinano had uttered her 
assurances that his trouble was but a trivial indisposition and 
that the male and female deities — above named — stood on his 
side and would not let him die, his courage had revived, he had 
felt a wave of healing influence pass through him and relief had 
come. 

In explanation of this see-saw of hope and despair, sickness 
and relief, let it be stated that the two goddesses Ha-pu'u and 
Ka-lei-hau-ola and the two male deities Ke-olo-ewa and Kama-ua, 
to whom Wai-hinano had appealed by name as staunch friends 
of Ka-ula-hea, were, in fact, allies, or, more properly speaking, 
partizans of Pele and, therefore, subject to the call of Hiiaka. 
The kahuna Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani who had charge of the 
case of Ka-ula-hea derived his power as a kahuna from these 
very same gods; but he well knew that if there was a conflict 
of interests the commands of Hiiaka would have to be carried 
out. As for the gods and goddesses above named, they, of 
course, knew their own position and that, as between Ka-ula-hea 
and Hiiaka, their service must be rendered to the latter. Willing 
enough they were, however, in return for the offerings laid on 
their altars, to feed the hopes of the sick man by temporary re- 
lief of his sharpest agonies. 

As if this tangle of motives were not enough, the affair was 
yet further complicated by the appearance of Kapo — sister, or 
aunt of Hiiaka — on the scene, who came not only as an inter- 
ested spectator but as a friend of king Ka-ula-hea. Her power 
to intervene was, of course, handicapped by the same limitations 
that touched the other gods and goddesses. She had the good 
sense to retire from the scene before things came to a critical 
pass. 

Meanwhile messengers are flying about, seeking or bringing 
assurance of relief and restoration to health to the king. Hiiaka 
saw that the time had come for decisive action. She went close 
up to the great stone Paha-lele that still lies in the road near 
Wai-he'e and, before smiting against the rock the soul she held 
captive in her hand, she uttered the following kau : 

E Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani ma, e, 

A pala ka hala haalei ma ke kaha o Maka-o-ku ; 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 81 

Haawi pauku oko'a me ko ha'i kini. 

He aloha ole no o Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani ma 

I ka anaana ia Ole-pau, e. 

Lapu Ole-pau, e : 

Ua akua ka ai a ka ilo! 

She pauses for a moment, then continues: 

Anu Wai-he'e i ka makani Kili-o'opu ; 

He i'a iki mai ke kele honua(^) o Wailuku, 

Mai ke kila o Pa-ha'a-lele la, e. 

Ha'alele ke ea o Ole-pau; 

Ua pokaka'a ka uhane, 

Ua kaalo ia Milu. 

TRANSLATION 

O Kau-akahi-ma-hiku-lani, 

You cast away the wilted fruit. 

And with it the fortunes of many : 

'Twas an act of unlove, that of yours — 

To hurl this prayer-shaft at Ole-pau: 

He'll become but a houseless ghost; 

The maggots shall batten Hke gods. 

Waihe'e crouches in the cold blast 

Of the raging Kili-o'opu. 

This atom soul I plucked from the grave. 

From a fastness desolate now: 

The spirit flits from Ole-pau, 

Goes down the steep to destruction. 

To the somber caverns of Milu. 

With this she dashed the captive soul against the rock, and 
that was the end of Ka-ula-hea. 

There was something in the manner of Hiiaka as she called 
the name of the kahuna Kau-akahi that chilled the courage of 
the group of sorcery gods. They saw that their game was 
played out, and they sneaked away and hid themselves. 



ig) Kele honua, an instance of a noun placed after its adjective. The 
meaning of Tcele honua, literally, the miry soil, a deep -taro patch. 



82 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

CHAPTER XVIII 

HIIAKA EMPLOYS THE ART OF MAGIC AS A MEANS 

OF DISGUISING HERSELF — SHE VOYAGES 

TO MOLOKAT — MEETS THE MO'O 

KIKI-PUA 

"Let us make haste to leave this place," said Hiiaka. This 
was because she foresaw that she would be importuned to use 
her power to restore the dead king to life. 

When these akuas, these spirits of necromancy, became con- 
vinced that they had been worsted in the fight and that the king 
was dead beyond all hope of recovery from them, they instructed 
the kahuna Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani to desist from his useless 
incantations and to dispatch all his people in search of Hiiaka 
as the only one capable of reviving the king's life. 

While toiling up the ascent of the hill Pulehu, the two women 
saw in the distance a great multitude of people pursuing them. 
Wahine-oma'o, in alarm, exclaimed "What in the world shall 
we do!" At once Hiiaka by the power of enchantment changed 
Wahine-oma'o into the shape of a little girl leading a dog, while 
she herself assumed the form of a bent old woman hobbling 
along with the aid of a stick; and as the multitude drew near 
they sat down by the wayside as if to rest. 

The people in pursuit had seen and recognized Hiiaka and 
felt sure of soon overtaking her. But, on coming to the place, 
they found only a decrepit woman and a child leading a dog. 
They were taken aback and asked, "Where are the two young 
women who were traveling this way? Have you not seen 
them?" 

"We have seen nothing of them," was the answer. 

When the people reported to the kahuna that they had found 
only an old woman and a girl with a dog in tow, he saw through 
the trick at once and exclaimed, "Those are the very persons 
I want. Go and bring them." 

The messengers of the kahuna next came up with Hiiaka and 
her companion at a place called Ka-lau-la'ola'o. There they 
found two girls of tender age busily employed in gathering 
lehua flowers and stringing them into wreaths; and, as before, 
they denied all sight and knowledge of the persons inquired for. 
The kahuna recognized that his people had again been victim- 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 83 

ized and, upbraiding them for their lack of detective insight, 
ordered them to renew the pursuit. 

Once more, at Kapua, in Ka-ana-pali, did Hiiaka find it neces- 
sary to resort to the arts of magic in order to escape from her 
pursuers. When the scouts of the kahuna arrived at the place 
they found a household of busy women — a wrinkled matronly 
figure was braiding a mat, while her companion, just returned 
from the ocean, was laying a fire to broil a fish for the evening 
meal. Not until they had gone some distance from the place 
did it occur to their sharpening wits that the house had looked 
spick-and-span new, and that they had seen no man about the 
place. Yes — they had been fooled again by the wonderful art 
of the girl Hiiaka. 

Hiiaka was rejoiced to find a canoe on the point of sailing to 
Moloka'i and the sailors gladly consented to give her a passage. 
The people of Kapua were greatly taken with the beauty and 
charm of Hiiaka and proposed, in all seriousness, that she should 
remain and become one of them. When they found that she 
was insistent to continue her journey at once, they one and all 
warned her not to attempt the windward side of Molokai, de- 
claring its coast to be precipitous and impassable, besides being 
infested by a band of man-killing mo'o. 

Hiiaka had no sooner set foot on Molokai's beach than her 
ears were assailed with complaints against those lawless beings, 
the mo'o. Two women, pallid and wasted with starvation, sat 
in the open field moaning and bewailing their estate. At sight 
of Hiiaka, as if recognizing their knight errant, they broke out 
into loud lamentations. The mo'o had robbed them of their 
husbands, and with them had gone their means of support and 
their very desire for food. Hiiaka, as if recognizing their claim 
upon her knight-errantry, with heartfelt sympathy for their 
miserable condition, opened her mouth in song: 

Kui na ohi'a hele i ke kaha, e ; 

Lei hele i ke kaha o Ka-pala-ili-ahi — 

Mau akua noho i ka la'i, e-e ; 

Ua hele wale a lei-6-a ke kino, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Provide you wreaths of ohi'a 
To gladden the heart of travel : 



84 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

You'll bring joy to these barren wastes 
Of Ka-pala-ili-ohi. — 
These creatures, sublime in their misery, 
Sit shelterless, wasted, forlorn. 

At this the women spoke up and said: "Our bodies are 
wasted only from our passionate love for our husbands. When 
they were taken from us we refused food." 

Hiiaka was indignant at such folly and left them to their fate. 
Their way still continued for some distance through a barren 
region and Hiiaka again alluded in song to the barrenness of the 
land and the misery of the women who suffered their bodies to 
waste away: 

Kui na apiki lei hele 

O Ka-mal6, e: 

Akua heahea i ke kaha o Iloli. 

He iloli aloha; 

He wi ka ke kino, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Provide you a bundle of wreaths. 
When the heart is ashes within. 
The witches were ready with babble 
In the barren land of Iloli : — 
Their's merely a passion hysteric. 
That shrivels the body like famine. 

The good people of Halawa valley, where Hiiaka found her- 
self well received, made earnest protest against the madness of 
her determination to make her way along the precipitous coast 
wall that formed Molokai's windward rampart. The route, they 
said, was impassable. Its overhanging cliffs, where nested the 
tropic-bird and the ua'u, dropped the plummet straight into the 
boiling ocean. Equally to be dreaded was a nest of demonlike 
creatures, mo'o, that infested the region and had their head- 
quarters at Kiki-pua, which gave name to the chief mo'o. Kiki- 
pua, being of the female sex, generally chose the form of a woman 
as a disguise to her character which combined the fierceness 
and blood-thirstiness of the serpent with the shifty resources of 
witchcraft, thus enabling her to assume a great variety of physical 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 85 

shapes, as suited her purpose. This last fact, had it stood by 
itself, would have decided Hiiaka's choice; for her journey, con- 
sidered as a pilgrimage, had as an important side-purpose the 
extermination root-and-branch, of the whole cursed tribe of mo'o 
from one end of the land to the other. 

(This Kiki-pua band of mo'o had included Haka-a'ano, the 
husband of Kiki-pua, also Papala-ua and her husband Olo- 
ku'i.(a) Kiki-pua had stolen away and taken to herself Olo- 
ku'i, the husband of Papala-ua, thus creating a bitter feud which 
broke up the solidarity of the band.) 

The way chosen by Hiiaka led along the precipitous face of 
the mountain by a trail that offered at the best only a precarious 
foothold or clutch for the hand. At one place a clean break 
opened sheer and straight into the boiling sea. As they con- 
templated this impasse, a plank, narrow and tenuous, seemed to 
bridge the abyss. Wahine-oma'o, rejoicing at the way thus 
offered, promptly essayed to set foot upon it, thinking thus to 
make the passage. Hiiaka held her back, and on the instant 
the bridgelike structure vanished. It was the tongue of the mo'o 
thrust out in imitation of a plank, a device to lure Hiiaka and 
her companion to their destruction. 

Hiiaka, not to be outdone as a wonder-worker, spanned the 
abyss by stretching across it her own magical pa-u, and over 
this, as on a bridge, she and Wahine-oma'o passed in security. 

The mo'o, Kiki-pua, took flight and hid among the cavernous 
rocks. But that did not avail for safety. Hiiaka gave chase 
and, having caught her, put an end to the life of the miserable 
creature. Thus did Hiiaka take another step towards ridding 
the land of the mo'o. 



(a) Oloku'i, a high bluff that overlooks Pele-kunu and Wailau, val- 
leys on Moloka'i. 



86 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 



CHAPTER XIX 

HIIAKA FINDS A RELATIVE IN MAKA-PU'U — KO'O- 
LAU WEATHER — MALEI 

Hiiaka's adventurous tour of Moloka'i ended at Kauna-ka-kai, 
from which place she found no difficulty in obtaining the offer 
of transportation to Oahu. The real embarrassment lay in the 
super-gallantry of the two sailors who manned the canoe. When 
the two men looked upon Hiiaka and Wahine-oma'o, they were 
so taken with admiration for their beauty and attractiveness, that 
they sneaked out of a previous engagement to take their own 
wives along with them, trumping up some shuffling excuse 
about the canoe being overladen. 

Arriving at the desolate landing near the wild promontory of 
Maka-pu'u, it was only by a piece of well-timed duplicity that 
Hiiaka and her companion managed to shake off the sailors and 
relieve themselves from their excessive attentions. 

While in mid channel, in sight of Ulu-ma-wao, a promontory 
whose name was the same as a near relative of the Pele family, 
Hiiaka poured out this reminiscence in song: 

Ku'u kane i ka pali kauhuhu, 

Kahi o Maka-pu'u(a) huki i ka lani 

Ka Lae o Ka-laau,(&) 

Kela pali makua-ole(c) olaila: — 

Anu ka ua i ka pali o Ulu-ma-wao, (rf) e; 

E mao wale ana i ka lani kela pali : 

Ku'i, ha-ina i ke kai. 

I ke kai ho'i ke Akua, 

A pololi a moe au, e-e! 

Ku'u la pololi, a ola i kou aloha : 

Ina'i pu me ka waimaka, e-e ! 

A e uVe kaua, e-e! 



(a) Maha-pu'u, a headland at the eastern extremity of Oahu, on which 
a lighthouse of the first class has been established within three years. 

(&) Lae o Ka-laau, the south-western cape of Moloka'i, on which is a 
lighthouse of the first class. 

(c) Mahua-ole, literally, fatherless or parentless; seemingly a reference 
to the lonely inhospitable character of the place. 

(d) Vlu-ma-wao, a hill in the same region as Maka-pu'u point. The 
name is said to mean a place having a very thin soil. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 87 

TRANSLATION 

O fellow mine on the stair-like cliff. 



Where Maka-pu'u climbs to the sky, 

Companioned by Cape-of-the-woods, 

That fatherless bluff over yonder : 

Cold cheer the rain on Ulu-ma-wao ; 

That lone steep faints away in the sky, 

While Ocean pounds and breaks at its base — 

The sea is the home of the gods. 

I lay in a swoon from hunger 

What time I awoke from love's dream. 

Love, salt with the brine of our tears. 

Let us mingle our tears. 

It was a question with Hiiaka whether to follow the Koolau 
or the Kona side of the island. The consideration that turned the 
scale in favor of the Koolau route was that thus she would have 
sight of a large number of aunts and uncles, members of the 
Pele family, whose ghosts still clung to the dead volcanic cones 
and headlands which stood as relics of their bygone activities, 
and where they eked out a miserable existence. The region was 
thickly strewn with these skeleton forms. Hiiaka fiVst addressed 
herself to Maka-pu'u: 

Noho ana Maka-pu'u i ka lae, 
He wahine a ke Akua Pololi : — 
Pololi, ai-ole, make i ka pololi, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Maka-pu'u dwells at the Cape, 
Wife to the god of Starvation — 
Hunger and death from starvation. 

To this Maka-pu'u answered : *'We love the place, the watch- 
tower, from which we can see the canoes, with their jibing trian- 
gular sails, sailing back and forth between here and Molo-ka'i." 
To this she added a little chanty : 

E Maka-pu'u nui, kua ke au e! 
Na mauii moe o Malei, e-e, 
I ai na maua, i ai na maua, e-e ! 



88 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 



TRANSLATION 



Oh Maka-pu'u, the famous. 
Back pelted by wind and by tide ! 
Oh the withered herbs of Malei! 
Oh give us some food for us both. 

To Malei Hiiaka addressed the following condolence : 

Owau e hele i na lae ino o Koolau, 

I na lae maka-kai o Moe-au ; 

E hele ka wahine au-hula ana o ka pali, 

Nana uhu ka'i o Maka-pu'u — 

He i'a ai na Malei, na ka wahine 

E noho ana i ka ulu o ka makani. 

I Koolau ke ola, i ka huaka'i malihini, 

Kanaenae i ka we-uwe'u, 

Ola i ka pua o ka mauu. 

E Malei e, e uwe kaua ; 

A e Malei e, aloha-ino no, e. 

TRANSLATION 

I walk your stormy capes, Koolau, 

The wave-beaten capes of Moe-au, 

Watch-towers, where the women who brave the sea 

May see the uhu coursing by — 

Meat for the woman who faces the gale, 

Sea-food for the woman Malei ; 

For her living comes from Koolau, 

From the pilgrim bands that pass her way; 

Yet we bless the herbs of the field, 

Whose bud and flower is meat for Malei : 

We pity and weep for Malei. 

Note. — Malei was, I am told, a female kupua who assumed various bodily 
forms. Offerings were necessary, not for her physical but for her spiritual 
sustenance. The burnt offering was not merely pleasing for its sweet smell- 
ing savour, it was an ailment necessary to the creature's continued ex- 
istence. For the same or a parallel reason, songs of praise and adulation 
(kanaenae) were equally acceptable and equally efficacious. Cut off the 
flowers of speech as well as the offerings of its worshippers, and a kupua 
would soon dwindle into nothingness. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 89 

"You are quite right," answered Malei : "the only food to be 
had in this desolate spot is the herbage that grows hereabouts; 
and for clothing we have to put up with such clouts as are tossed 
us by travelers. When the wind blows one has but to open his 
mouth to get his belly full. That has been our plight since your 
sister left us two old people here. Cultivate this plain, you say; 
plant it with sweet potatoes; see the leaves cover the hills; then 
make an oven and so relieve your hunger. Impossible." 

As they traveled on Maka-pu'u and its neighbor hills passed 
out of sight. Arriving at Ka-ala-pueo, they caught view of the 
desolate hill Pohaku-loa, faint, famished, forlorn. The sight of 
it drew from Hiiaka this chanting utterance : 

Puanaiea ke kanaka, 

Ke hele i ka li'u-la, 

I Kohola-pehu, i ke kaha o Hawi, e. 

Wi, ai ole, make i ka i'a ole, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Man faints if he travels till night-fall 

In the outer wilds of Kohala, 

In the barren lands of Hawi — 

It's famine, privation of bread, of meat! 

"It is indeed a barren land. Fish is the only food it produces. 
Our vegetables come from Wai-manalo. When the people of 
that district bring down bundles of food we barter for it our 
fish. When we have guests, however, we try to set vegetable 
food before them." 

To speak again of the kupua Malei, a few years ago, as I am 
told, a Hawaiian woman on entering a certain cave in the region 
of Wai-manalo, found herself confronted with a stone figure, 
from which glowed like burning coals a group of eight flaming 
eyes, being set in deep sockets in the stone. This rare object was 
soon recognized as the bodily dwelling of the kupua Malei. This 
little monolith at a later time came into the possession of Mr. 
John Cummins of Waimanalo. 



90 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

CHAPTER XX 

HIIAKA EXPERIENCES KOOLAU WEATHER 

Hiiaka found many things to try her patience and ruffle her 
temper in Pali-Koolau: Squalls, heavy with rain-drops picked 
up by the wind in its passage across the broad Pacific, slatted 
against her and mired the path ; but worse than any freak of the 
weather were her encounters with that outlaw thing, the mo'o; 
not the bold robber creature of Hawaii which took to the wilds, 
as if in recognition of its own outlawry, but that meaner skulk, 
whose degenerate spirit had parted with its last atom of virtuous 
courage and clung to human society only as a vampire, unwilling 
to forego its parasitic hold on humanity. It was in the mood 
and spirit begotten of such experiences that she sang : 

Ino Koolau, e, ino Koolau! 

Ai kena i ka ua o Koolau : 

Ke ua mai la i Ma-elieli, 

Ke hoowa'awa'a mai la i Heeia, 

Ke kupa la ka ua i ke kai. 

Ha'a hula le'a ka ua 

I Ahui-manu, ka ua hooni, 

Hoonaue i ka pu'u ko'a, 

Ka ua poai-hale(a) o Kaha-lu'u. 

Lu'u-lu'u e, lu'u-lu'u iho nei au 

I ka puolo waimaka o ka onohi — 

Ke kulu iho nei, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Vile, vile is this Koolau weather : 
One soaks in the rain till he's full. 
The rain, it pours at Ma-eli-eli; 
It gutters the land at He-eia ; 
It lashes the sea with a whip. 
The rain, it dances in glee 
At Ahui-manu, moving 

(a) Ua poai-halCj a rain that whisked about on all sides of a house, 
house. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 91 

And piling the coral in heaps, 

Shifting from side to side of the house. 

This whisking rain of Kaha-lu'u. 

Heavy and sad, alas, am I, 

Mine eyes, a bundle of tears, 

Are full to o'erflowing. 

As they approached Kua-loa, the huge mo'o-dragon, Moko- 
li'i, reared himself up and, pluming and vaunting himself, sought 
to terrify them and prevent their passage. Hiiaka did not flinch 
in her attack. When she had killed the monster, she set up his 
flukes as a landmark which now forms the rock known to this 
day as Moko-li'i. The body of the dragon she disposed in such 
a way that it helped form the road-bed of the traveled highway. 
After this achievement she vented her feelings in an exultant 
song : 

Ki'e-ki'e Kane-hoa-lani 

Au Moko-li'i (&) i ke kai, 

I keiki, i Makahiapo na Koolau: 

Lau Koolau, kena wale i ka ino ; 

He ino loa no, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Kane-hoa lifts to the sky; 
Moko-li'i swims in the ocean — 
The first-born child of Koolau — 
A legion of fiends is Koolau, 
Eager for mischief, subtle of trick. 

Coming to where the deep and narrow gorge of Ka-liu-wa'a 
valley opens out, Hiiaka discerned the nature-carved lineaments 
of her ancestor Kauhi ke-i-maka-o-ka-lani, as he was epitheted, 
a rocky form set in the pali, but veiled to ordinary sight by a 
fringe of ti and kukui. Its eye-sockets, moist with the dripping 
dew of heaven, gleamed upon her with a wondrous longing, 
which she answered in song: 

(o) Moko-li'i (little snake), compound of moJco^ archaic form of mo'o, 
and IVi. 



92 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

O Kauhi ke i-maka(a) o ka lani, 

O ka pali keke'e o halawa-lawa,(6) 

O kuahiwi mauna pali poko, ke he'e ia, 

E like la me Ka-liu-wa'a, 

Ka pali ololo-e(c) o Puna i Hilo; 

O ka hala o Manu'u-ke-eu,(fl?) 

E kui, e lei au : 

O Kauhi, ka halu'a-pua,(^) maka a-lani 

ka maka o ke akua, 

1 ka maka o Pe'ape'a.(/) 
Uluulu ka manu i kona hulu ; 
Ke lele kaha ia lupe la ; 
Lawe ka ua, la we ka makani, 

A lawe ke ka-upu(^) hulu manu, 

Kele-kele i o akua la, e ke Akua. 

He akua ia la, aohe ike mai : 

O kana luahi(/j) nui no ka maka, 

Ke ala nei; — E ala; 

E ala, e ala mai ana, e ! 

E ala e, Hi-ka'a-lani!(j) 

E ala, e, ka Hooilo ua i ka lani ! 

E ala e, Mau,(y) wahine a Maka-li'i; 

E ala. e ! 



(a) I-maka, a watch-tower. (This is a new word, not in the dic- 
tionary. ) 

(&) Ha-lawa-lawa, zigzag. 

(c) Ololo-e, out of line; out of order; irregular. See ololo, in An- 
drews' Hawaiian Dictionary. Keke'e, halawalawa and ololo-e have the 
same generic meaning'. 

id) Manu'u-he-eu, the name of a mythical hala tree that once grew in 
Puna. The seed was brought from Kahiki by Ka-moho-alii, when he came 
from that land with Pele and others. They ate the drupe of it with salt 
and sugar-cane, and then Ka-moho-alii planted the seed. The tree that 
grew up was, of course, a kupua. 

(e) Halu'a-pua, flower-bedecked; compound of halu'a (covered), and 
pua (a flower). 

if) Pe'ape'a, a bat; a creature regarded as a kupua. 

ig) Ka-upUy some sort of a sea-gull. 

ih) Lu-aM, the object of a person's wrath or indignation. 

(O Hika'a-lani, facing heaven ; looking up to heaven. This was the 
name given later to a beautiful princess on Oahu. 

ij) Ma-u, literally, damp ; the name of the wife of Maka-li'i, as here 
indicated. Maka-li'i, here used as the name of a deity, is also, 1. the name 
of the Pleiades ; 2. the name of the month in which that constellation rises 
at the time of sunset ; 3. the name sometimes applied to the six summer 
months collectively. The visible sign of Makali'i, as a deity or kupua, 
was a rain-cloud. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 93 

TRANSLATION 

Kauhi, thou watch-tower of heaven, 
Ensconced in the zigzag fluted wall — 
Slipp'ry to climb as Ka-liu-wa'a, 
Or the straggling Puna-Hilo hills. — 
Ah, the drupes of Manu'u-ke-eu ! 
Let me string, let me wear them! 
Thy body lies smothered in ferns ; 
Thine eye shines on high like a star, 
Or jeweled eye of bat, Pe'a-pe'a. 
As a bird, now ruffle your plumage — 
How sways the kite in the wind ! 
On balanced wing, then swing and float, 
Warding off rain, warding off wind, 
Like a sea-gull, clad in feathery mail. 
Course about on the wings of a god. 
He's surely a god; yet hears he not; 
Fierceness gleams from his eye. 
Now he looks, now turns — and to me ! 
Awake, thou explorer of heaven ! 
Awake, thou sender of Winter's rain! 
The spouse, Ma-u, of Winter is night ; 
The time of arising has come ! 

This kupua, Kauhi, termed the watch-tower of heaven, having 
come from Kahiki in the train of Pele's followers, and having 
been stationed in this cliff, had got no further in his travels than 
Oahu. He bemoaned his fate as that of a malihini god, a 
stranger to the rest of the group. On being roused by this prayer- 
song of Hiiaka, as he gazed upon the beautiful goddess, a divine 
ambition stirred within him — to journey with her, enjoy her 
society, and make acquaintance with the land to which he was 
still a stranger. With this purpose in mind, at the conclusion 
of her address, he chanted this response: 

O Pele la ko'u akua: 

Miha ka lani, miha ka honua: 



94 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Awa i-ku,(a) awa i-lani,(&) keia awa, 

Ka awa nei o Hiiaka, 

I ku ai, ku i Mauli-ola;(f:) 

I Mauli-ola he awa kaulu-ola,(cf) e, 

No na Wahine, — e kapu-kapu-kai(^) ka awa, 

E Pele honua-mea! 

E kala, e Haumea(/) wahine; 

O ka Wahine i Kilauea, 

Nana i ai(^) a hohonu ka Lua; 

O Ma.-u,(h) wahine a Maka-li'i; 

O Lua-wahine(i) ka lani; 

Kukuena;(y) o na wahine 

1 ka inu hana awa; 

Kanaenae a ke akua malihini,(^) e! 

(a, b) Awa i-ku, awa i-lani. A clear understanding of these words calls 
for a reference to the customs, that had almost the dignity of a rite, that 
were observed in the handling of awa for purposes of worship, or as an 
offering to the gods. This began with the very digging of the awa root. 
He who did this had first to purify himself by a bath in the ocean, fol- 
lowed by an ablution in fresh water and completing the lustration with 
an aspersion of water containing turmeric, administered by a priest. Then, 
having arrayed himself in a clean malo, he knelt with both knees upon 
the ground and tore the root from its bed. Now, rising to his feet, he 
lifted the awa root to heaven, and by this act the awa was dignified and 
was called awa i-ku. The utterance (by the priest ?) of the kanaenae, or 
prayer of consecration and eulogy, still further enhanced this dignity and 
set it apart as a special sacrifice to some god, or to the gods of some class. 
Awa thus consecrated was known as awa i-lani. 

(c) Mauli-ola, the God of Health; also the name of a place. The same 
name was applied also to the breath of life, and to the kahmia's power of 
healing. In the Maori tongue the word mauri means life, the seat of life. 
In Samoan mauli means heart; in Hawaiian it means to faint. "Sneeze, 
living heart" {"Tihe, mauri ora"), says the New Zealand mother to her 
infant when it utters a sneeze. The Hawaiian mother makes the same 
ejaculation. 

id) Ka-ulu-ola. I can throw no light on this phrase further than is to 
be obtained in the above note. 

(e) Kapu-kapu-kai. Awa was forbidden to women. Under certain cir- 
cumstances, however, it was set before them. In such a case the tabu 
was first removed by sprinkling the root with sea water (kapu-kai). 

(f) Haumea, the mother of Pele. 

(g) Ai. In another version, instead of ai, I find eli or elieli used. 

(h) Ma-u, the sister of Haumea, therefore aunt to Pele, also the wife 
of Maka-li'i. 

(i) liua-wahine, (lua-hine ?), said to be an incarnation, or more properly, 
perhaps, a spiritual form ikino-lau) of Haumea. 

(j) Kukuena, the goddess, au-makua, who presided over the ceremony 
of preparing awa for drinking; said to be an elder sister of Pele. 

(fc) Akua malihinij an epithet applied to himself by Kauhi, because, as 
previously stated, he had since his arrival from Kahiki been obliged to 
remain fixed in his station in the cliff and had thus been denied acquaintance 
with the other islands, especially the big island of Hawaii. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 95 

Hele ho'i ke ala mauka o Ka-ii 
Hele ho'i ke ala makai o Puna, 
I Ka-ma'a-ma'a,(/) i ka puale'i,(m) 
E loa'a ka awa i Apua;(M) 
Ka pi'i'na i Ku-ka-la-ula;(o) 
Hoopuka aku la i kai o Pu'u-lena — (/>) 
Aina a ke Akua(g) i noho ai. — 
Kanaenae a ke 'kua malihini. 

TRANSLATION- 

Pele, indeed, is my god. 
Calm be the heavens, peaceful the earth : 
Here's awa fresh-torn from the ground, 
Awa that's been lifted to heaven. 
An off 'ring for goddess Hiiaka, 
A growth of the kingdom Mauli-ola, 
Awa that makes for health and peace; 
Its woman-ban cleared by aspersion. 
Pele, O Pele of the sacred land, 
And thou, O Mother Haumea; 
Thou Woman of Kilauea, 
Fire-goddess who dug the Pit deep ; 
Niece to Ma-u, Maka-li'i's wife ; 
Own child of heavenly Hau-mea; 
And thou Kukuena, that rules 
In the rite of toothing the awa — 
A brew that is fit for the gods — 
Love-offering this of the stranger god. 
Denied, alas, the road through upland 
Ka-u and the lowlands of Puna, 

(0 Ka-ma'a-ma'a^ a land in Puna. 

(m) Pua-le'i. Bird-hunters often stripped off the lower branches from 
a selected lehua tree that was in full flower and then limed it to ensnare 
the birds that were attracted to its rich clusters. Such a tree was termed 
pua-le'i. 

(n) Apua, a place in Puna. 

(o) Ku-ka-la-ulaj a place on the road that ascends from Puna to Ealau- 
ea. The same term was applied to the ruddy glow that appears on a 
mountain horizon just before sunrise. 

(p) Pu'u-lena, said to be the name of a hill hear Kilauea-iki. It is now 
commonly employed as the name of a wind, as in the old saying: "Ua 
hala ka Pu'u-lena, aia i Hilo." 

(,q) Akua. That was Pele herself. "Aina a ke Akua i noho ai" has 
passed into a saying. 



96 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

To Ka-ma'a and the bird-limed tree — 
Sure route to the potent root of Apua — 
The up-road to Ku-ka-la-ula, 
Thence leading to Sulphur-hill : 
Land where the gods did once dwell ! 
A laud this, voiced by the stranger god. 

At the conclusion of this kanaenae Kauhi said to Hiiaka, *Tf 
you are the woman that consumes the forests of Puna, when you 
travel I will go with you." {"Ina ooe ka wahine ai laau o Puna, 
ooe hele, oau helef') 

Hiiaka did not wish to offend the aggrieved deity ; at the same 
time she could not consent to his proposition. In this dilemma 
she did her best to soothe his feelings and reconcile him to his 
lot: 

Ku'u Akua i ka hale hau, 
Hale kanaka ole, 
E noho i ke kai o Ma'a-kua, 
Alae ia e ke ki oliuohu, e ! 
Pene'i wale no ka iki Akua. 
Auwe, ku'u Akua, e! 

TRANSLATION 

My god of the chilly mansion, — 
A house without human tenant, — 
Abide yet the blasts of the sea, 
The slap of the broad leafy ti. 
Such the advice of a lesser god: 
My tender farewell this to Thee. 

Kauhi was indignant at this evasive dismissal of his entreaty. 
The thought that Hiiaka should countenance his perpetual im- 
prisonment in the bleak cliff filled him with rage. With a mighty 
effort he lifted himself and tore away the covering of tree-roots, 
earth and rocks that embraced him until he came to a crouching 
position. That was the limit of his power : he could do no more. 
A stony form in the mountain wall of Kahana, resembling the 
shape of a man on all-fours, remains to vouch for the truth of 
this legend. 










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Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 97 

CHAPTER XXl(x) 

HIIAKA DESCRIBES THE SCENE BEFORE HER 

Hiiaka constantly showed a lively interest in the important fea- 
tures of the landscape, often addressing them as if they had been 
sentient beings. At Kai-papa'u, looking out upon cape Lani-loa, 
she greeted it as if it had been an old friend of the family: 

Lele Lani-loa ; ua malie ; 
Ke hoe a'e la ka Moa'e, 
Ahu kai i na pali ; 
Kaiko'o lalo, e. 
Ua pi'i kai i uka, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Fly Lani-loa, fly in the calm. 
At the moaning of Moa'e, (a) 
Mist veils the mountain walls. 
The breakers roll ever below. 
While Ocean climbs to the hills. 

They passed through the lands of Laie, Malae-kahana and 
Keana and at Kahipa they saw the crouching figures of Puna- 
he'e-lapa and Pahi-pahi-alua, who stole away into the shelter 
of the pandanus groves without deigning to give them any salu- 
tation. At this show of disrespect, Hiiaka called out: 

Komo i ka nahele ulu hinalo, 
Nahele hala o Po'o-kaha-lulu ; 
Oia nahele hala makai o Kahuku. 
Heaha la ho'i ka hala(3r) 
I kapu ai o ka leo, e? 
I Hookuli ai oe i ka uwalo, e? 
E uwalo aku ana au ; 
Maloko mai oe, e ! 

ix) I have purposely weeded out from the narrative, as popularly told, 
several incidents that have but little interest and no seeming pertinence 
to the real purpose of the story. 

(o) Moa'e, the trade wind. 

(2/) There seems to lurk a play in this word hala. It stood not only 
for the pandanus tree ; it also meant a fault, a sin. 



98 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

We enter the fragrant groves, 
Hala groves whose heads make a calm, 
Wild growths by the sea of Kahuku, 
But what, indeed, are your halas? 
Shall their murmur forbid you speech? 
Make you dumb to my salutation? 
I make this kindly entreaty 
To you who sit in the grove. 

They crossed the Waimea stream on the sand-bar, which in 
ordinary weather dams its mouth and, climbing the rocky bluff 
Kehu-o-hapu'u, had a fine view of the ocean surges tossing up 
their white spray as they ceaselessly beat against the near-by 
elevated reef-fringe that parapets this coast, as well as of the 
Ka-ala mountains, blue in the distance. 

(This bluff of Kehu-o-hapu'u until within a few years was 
the site of a little heiau, the resort of fishermen; and in it stood 
a rude stone figure of the fish-god Ku-ula. From the non-mention 
of this interesting object, we have to argue either that the dis- 
covery and worship of this idol was of later date than the times 
of Hiiaka or that she ignored it.) 

Hiiaka, casting her eye about for objects of interest, was at- 
tracted by the odd appearance of the lily-like water-plant uki, 
the detached floating clumps of which looked as if they had been 
fire-smitten : 

Ke ai'na mai la e ka wai 

Ka maha uki o Ihu-koko; 

Ke puhi ia la e ka makani. 

Hako'i ka ua, ka wai iluna: 

Ke kina'i ia ho'i ka iwi o ka wai a eha. 

E ha i ka leo — he leo wale no. 

TRANSLATION 

The lily tufts of Ihu-koko 

Are gnawed away by the water 

And thrashed about by the wind. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 99 

Beat down by the rain from heaven, 
The wave-ribs are flattened out. 
Hushed be the voice — merely the voice. 

From the same vantage-ground — that of Kehu-o-hapu'u — 
Hiiaka not only saw the dash of the ocean against the buttresses 
of the near-by coast, her ears also were filled with a murmurous 
ocean-roar that gave to the air a tremor like that of a deep 
organ-tone : 

O Wai-alua, kai leo nui: 
Ua lono ka uka o Lihu'e; 
Ke wa la Wahi-awa, e. 
Kuli wale, kuli wale i ka leo ; 
He leo no ke kai, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Wai-alua, land of the sounding seay 
With audience in upland Lihu'e — 
A voice that reaches Wahi-awa : 
Our ears are stunned by this voice — 
The voice, I say, of old Ocean! 

The landscape still held her, and she continued: 

O Wai-alua, la'i eha, e! 

Eha ka malino lalo o Wai-alua. 



TRANSLATION 

Wai-alua has a fourfold calm, 

That enfolds and broods o'er the land. 

"Let us move on," said Hiiaka to her companion, "there's a 
pang next my heart. Had I meat in my hand, we'd trudge to a 
water-spring and so be refreshed until we came to the house of 
a friend. Let us move." 

From the plain near Lau-hulu Hiiaka took a fresh view of 
Mount Ka-ala and, in a tone of bantering apology, said, "Forget 
me not, O Ka-ala. Perhaps you complain that I have not 
chanted your praises :" 



100 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

O Ka-ala, kuahiwi mauna kehau, 
Ke opu mai la, la, i Ka-maoha ; 
Poluea(a) iho la ilalo o Hale-auau; 
Ke kini ke kehau anu o Ka-lena. 
Akahi no ka nele o ka la pomaikai : 
Aohe moe-wa'a(&) o ka po nei — 
Ka moe-wa'a, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-ala, dewy and forest-clad, 
Bellies the plain at Ma-6ha, 
As it slopes to the land below. 
The cool dew-fall comforts Ka-lena : 
First pinch this of want mid good luck — 
No dream of canoe-voyage last night, 
No dream of disaster at sea. 

The story of Cape Ka-ena, that finger-like thrusts itself out 
into the ocean from the western extremity of Oahu, touches 
Hawaiian mythology at many points: Its mountain eminence 
was a leina uhane, jumping-off place, where the spirits of the 
deceased took their flying leap into ghost-land. Here it was 
that the demigod Mawi had his pow sto when he made the 
supreme effort of his life to align and unite the scattered group 
of islands; and here can still be seen Pohaku o Kauai, the one 
fragment of terra iirma his hook could wrench from its base. 
Here, too, it was that Pele stood when she chaffed the old demi- 
god for having lured her on, as she supposed, with drum and 
fife to the pursuit of Lohiau; and now her sister Hiiaka stands 
in the same place. The subject was well worthy Hiiaka's muse : 

Lele ana o Ka-ena 

Me he manu la i ka malie ; 



(a) Poluea, ordinary meaning, to be nauseated; here it means to slope 
down. 

(b) Moe-wa'a, literally, a canoe-dream. To dream of a canoe-voyage 
was considered an omen of very bad luck. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 101 

Me he kaha na ka uwa'u(a) la 

Na pali o Nene-le'a;(&) 

Me he upa'i na ke koa'e (c) la. 

Ka ale iwaho o Ka-ieie;(.c?) 

Me he kanaka hoonu'u la i ka malie 

Ka papa kea i ke alo o ka ala; 

Ua ku'i 'a e ke kai, 

A uli, a nono, a ula 

Ka maka o ka ala, 

E no-noho ana i ke kai o Ka-peku.(^) 

Ka-peku ka leo o ke kai — 

Hoo-ilo(/) ka malama. — 
Ke ku mai la ka pauli i kai, 
Ka hoailona kai o ka aina : 
A^e kai o Ka-hulu-manu;(^) 
Kai a moana ka aina. 

Ahu wale ka pae ki'i, 

Ka pae newe-newe, 

Ka pae ma nu'u a Kana-loa : — 

A he hoa, a oia. 

Hoohaehae(/j) ana ka Lae-o-ka-laau, (i) 

1 kihe(y) ia e ke kai o Wawalu,(fe) 
Na owaewae(/) pali o Unu-lau 

Inu aku i ka wai o Kohe-iki i ka pali — 

(a) Uwa'u, a sea-bird, a grull. 

(6) Nene-le'a, a place near Ka-ena point, close to Pohaku o Kaua'i. 

(c) Koa'e, the tropic-bird, or bosen-bird. 

(d) Ka-ieie, the channel between Oahu and E^auai. 

(e) Ka-peku. The word kapeku, at the beginning of verse 13, means, 
I am told, querulous. 

if) Ho'o-ilo, or Ho-ilo, the cool or rainy season of the year, covering 
six months according to the Hawaiians. There was no such month ima- 
hina) as Ho'o-ilo, or Ho-ilo. 

(g) Ka-hulu-manu. The kai o Ka-hulu-manu is, as reported to me by 
a well-informed Hawaiian, a flood that submerged the land in mythological 
times, distinct from Kai-a-Jca-hina-alii. 

(h) Hoohaehae, to chase, to irritate, to tease. 

(i) Lae-o-ka-laau, (literally, Cape of the Trees), the south-western cape 
of Moloka'i, on which the United States have established a first-class light- 
house. 

(j) Kihe, to sneeze ; to spatter ; to wet with spray. 

(fc) Wawalu, a cove. 

(l) Owaewae, gullied. This is an instance of the adjective being placed 
before its noun. 



102 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

I ka pali ka wai, 

Kau pu me ka laau. 

Hoole ke kupa, huna i ka wai.(w) 

Eha ka muli-wai, wai(?t) o Ka-ena. 

Ena iho la e ka la o ka Maka-li'i ; 

O-i'o mai ana ke a me he kanaka koa la, 

Maalo ana i ku'u maka; 

Me he hauka'i la o ia kalana pali, 

Kuamo'o loa, pali o Lei-honua. 

Hiki iho nei no ka hauoli 

I ka hiki'na mai a nei makani. 

Heaha la ka'u makana i ku'u hilahila? 

O ka'u wale iho la no ia, o ka leo, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-ena Point flies on its way 

Like a sea-bird in fair weather ; 

Like the wings of a swooping gull 

Are the cliffs of Nene-le'a ; 

Like the lash of the bosen's wings 

Is the curl of the breaking wave 

In the channel of le-ie. 

The gray sand that borders the lava 

Drinks the waves like a thirsting man ; 

And purple and pink and red 

Are the eye-spots of the bazalt 

That gleam in the sea of Ka-peku. 

The sea gives a querulous tone — 

The season is that of Ho-ilo. 

A cloud-pall shadows the ocean. 

Sure sign of a turbulent sea, 

Of a tide that will deluge the land. 

Like the Flood of Ka-hulu-manu. 

The god-forms stand in due order. 

Forms that are swollen to bursting, 

The group on Kana-loa's altar : — 

(w) Huna i ka wai. The people of the region concealed the holes where 
water dripped, as it was very scarce. 

(n) Muli-wai, literally a river, a poetical exaggeration. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 103 

Friends, allies, I reckon them all. 
Cape-of-the-Woods entices us on, 
Besprayed by the sea of Wawalu, 
Forefront Unulau's gullied cliffs. 
I drink of the water distilled 
By the dripping- pali walls, 
Led forth in a hollowed log. 
The rustic denies it and hides it : 
Four water-streams has Ka-ena; 
And the summer sun is ardent. 
The blocks of stone, like warriors. 
Move in procession before me — 
Pilgrims that march along the crest 
Of the steep ridge Lei-honua. 
Ah, a new joy now do I find : 
It comes with the breath of this wind ! 
And what is my gift in return? 
To my shame, it's only my voice. 

The rocks and huge bowlders that dotted the barren waste of 
Ka-ena seemed to the travelers to glow and vibrate as if they 
were about to melt under the heat of the sun, a phenomenon that 
stirred the imagination of Hiiaka to song: 

Liu'a ke kaha o Ka-ena, wela i ka La ; 
Ai'na iho la ka pohaku a mo'a wela ; 
Kahuli oni'o, holo ana i ka malie; 
Ha'aha'a^ ka puka one, ki'eki'e ke ko'a, 
I ka hapai ia e ka makani, ka Malua : 
O'u hoa ia i ke Koolau, e. 
A pa Koolau, hoolale kula hulu ; 
Kahea ke keiki i ka wa'a, 
'E holo, oi malie ke kaha o Nene-le'a; 
Aohe halawai me ka ino i ka makani; 
Ka pipi lua o ka ale i ka ihu o ka wa'a. 
He wa'awa'a(a) ka makani, he naaupo; 
Ke kai ku'i-ke, koke nalo ka pohaku ! 



(a) Wa'a-wa'a, simple-minded; unsophisticated; "green;" the name of 
two youths mentioned in tradition, one of whom committed blunder after 
blunder from his soft-hearted stupidity. 



104 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ke kupa hoolono kai, o Pohaku-o-Kaua'i.(&) e, 
A noho ana o Pohaku o Kaua'i i kai, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-ena, salty and barren. 

Now throbs with the blaze of the sun ; 

The rocks are consumed by the heat, 

Dappled and changed in their color: 

The sand-holes sink, the coral forms heaps. 

Urged by the breath of Malua — 

That fellow of mine from Koolau : 

When blows Koolau, then bristles the plain. 

Then calls the lad to the sailor, 

Speed on while calm is Nene-le'a ; 

Such time you'll meet with good weather ; 

The lap of the sea 'gainst the bow — 

A most thoughtless, good-natured, wind, that. 

When choppy the sea, hid are the rocks ! 

A man of the sea art thou, well versed 

In its signs of storm and of calm, 

O Rock, thou Rock of Kaua'i ! 



(6) Pohaku o Kaua'i. The most audacious terrestrial undertaking of 
the demigod Mawi was his attempt to rearrange the islands of the group 
and assemble them into one solid mass. Having chosen his station at 
Kaena Point, the western extremity of Oahu, from which the island of 
Kaua'i is clearly visible on a bright day, he cast his wonderful hook, Mana- 
ia-ka-lani, far out into the ocean that it might engage itself in the founda- 
tions of Kaua'i. When he felt that it had taken a good hold, he gave a 
mighty tug at the line. A huge bowlder, the Pohaku o Kaua'i, fell at his 
feet. The mystic hook, having freed itself from its entanglement, dropped 
into Palolo Valley and hollowed out the crater, that is its grave. This 
failure to move the whole mass of the island argues no engineering mis- 
calculation on Mawi's part. It was due to the underhand working of 
spiritual forces. Had Mawi been more politic, more observant of spiritual 
etiquette, more diplomatic in his dealings with the heavenly powers, his 
ambitious plans would, no doubt, have met with better success. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 105 

CHAPTER XXII 

HIIAKA ADDRESSES POHAKU-O-KAUAl — THE TWO 
WOMEN RIG UP A CANOE — SHE SALUTES 
KAENA — SALUTE TO HAUPU — SEES 
LOHIAU'S SPIRIT FORM • 

Hiiaka had large acquaintance with the natural features of 
every landscape, and if those features were of volcanic origin she 
might claim them as kindred through her own relationship with 
Pele. It was hers to find friendship, if not sermons, in stones. 
This Pohaku-o-Kaua'i, to whom Hiiaka now addressed herself, 
though in outward form an unshapen bowlder, as we see it 
today, — the very one that Mawi drew from its ocean-bed with 
his magic hook Mana-ia-ka-lani — was in truth a sentient being, 
alive to all the honor-claims of kinship. To him, in her need, 
Hiiaka addressed herself: 

E Pohaku o Kaua'i i kai, e, 

A po Ka-ena i na pali, 

I wa'a no maua 

E ike aku ai i ka maka o ke hoa, 

O Lohiau ipo, e! 

TRANSLATION 

O sea-planted Rock of Kaua'i, 

Night shadows the cliffs of Ka-ena : 

A canoe for me and my fellow ; 

We would look on the face of our friend, 

Lohiau the dearly beloved. 

"I have no canoe," said Pohaku o Kaua'i. "The one I had 
was wrecked in a storm while on a fishing trip. One huge wave 
came aboard and split her from end to end. We had to swim 
for it. But surely, such a beautiful woman as you will have no 
trouble in finding a canoe. There must be no lack of canoes 
making the trip to Kaua'i." 

"In the lack of a canoe, let us have a plank, such as I see you 
are there using for a shelf." 



106 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

"If that will serve you, you are welcome," said the old man. 

"We shall also need an outrigger-float for our craft," Hiiaka 
remarked. 

"An ama (outrigger-float) is a thing I lack," he answered. 

"You must have some block of wili-wili — such as that one, 
for instance, wihch you use to hold your fishhooks," Hiaaka 
urged. 

The old man was able to meet their demands. The two women 
then set their wits to work and finally succeeded in lashing the 
parts together in such fashion as to make something that would 
serve as a canoe. 

Hiiaka, as the one in command, sat astern and Wahine-oma'o 
in the bow. As they sailed away Hiaaka saluted Cape Ka-ena in 
these words : 

Holo Ka-ena, la. 

Me he wa'a kaukahi la i ka malie ; — 
Ka lau hoe, lau hoe o Kua-o-ka-la;(o) 
Ke kowelowelo(&) la o Lehua, e; 
O Lehua ho'i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-ena speeds along 

A single canoe in the calm ; 

The four hundred rays that dart from 

The Back of the Sun sink down 

In the sea at Lehua, 

The western waves of Lehua. 

When well out in the channel of Kaieie the sight of the famous 
Hill of Haupu, that now appeared to lift its head like a water- 
fowl stemming the tide, was an inspiration to song. Mingled 
with the pleasure, however, was the chagrin and indignation that 
came from knowing that at that very moment her own lehua 
preserves in Kona were suffering ravage from fire by the act 
of Pele : 

(a) Kua-o-Tca-La (the back of the sun), a personification and deification 
of that orb. 

(&) Kowelowelo, to sink into; to be submerged. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 107 

O Haupu,(a) mauna ki'e-ki'e, 
Huki a'e la, pa i ka lani ; 
Waha(&) keiki ma ke kua; 
Hi'i Ke-olewa(c) ma ke alo; 
Au ana Ni'ihau i ke kai. 
Pau a'u lehua i ka manu, e, 
Pau, e, o a'u lehua, ho'i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Famed Haupu, the mighty hill, 
Lifts head till she touches heaven ; 
On her back strapped a suckling child, 
While she fondles a fleecy cloud, 
And Niihau swims the ocean tide. 
Oh, my lehuas ! spoiled by the birds ! 
Alas, my lehuas, alas ! 

"What a notion!" Wahine-oma'o exclaimed. "Who in the 
world is meddling with your lehuas ?" 

While they were sailing along the precipitous coast of Ka- 
lalau, set in the windward wall of the island, Hiiaka saw stand- 
ing at the mouth of a cave high up on the precipice, the spirit 
form of one who was no other than Lohiau, and again she was 
moved to song : 

A Ka-lalau, a Ke-e, 

A ka pali au i Haena, 

E peahi mai ana ka lawakua(a) ia'u la; 

Peahi, e peahi mai ana ka lawakua ia'u. 

Owau keia, o ka maka o ke aloha, la, 

O ke aloha, ho'i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Off the coast of Lalau, off Ke-e, 
When nigh the cliffs of Haena, 

(a) Haupu, a famous hill on Kauai, visible from Oahu. When it was 
capped with a cloud, Hawaiians said, '^TJa kau mai ka pua'a i Haupu; e ua 
ana." If that occurred in the rainy season, they said it was about to clear. 

(6) Waha, the same as haawe, i.e., a load for the back. In this case it 
was a bank of mist or clouds. 

(c) Ke-olewa, a hill, smaller than Haupu, on the side towards Kipu-kai. 
The word also applied to the floating clouds about the mountain. 



108 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

The loved one beckons, he beckons, 
The loved one beckons to me. 
I am the one — the eye-scout of love : 
Love, indeed, is my errand, aye love! 

The ghost-form of Lohiau still continued to show itself as they 
sailed ; and when it signalled a recognition of Hiiaka by beckon- 
ing to her, she could but answer it : 

Ua pu'e ia e ke one ka lehua o uka ; 

Ua ho-a iki ka ula i ka papa ; 

Ua huna i ke kino i ka pohaku ; 

O ka pua na'e, ke ahu nei i ke ala — 

Alanui hele o Ka-unu-kupukupu;(6) 

Hele li'u-la(c) o ka poha-kau,(J) e ; 

Kaulia(^) a ka poha-kau he kilohana(/) ia; 

He maka'ika'i ia no Ka-hua-nui ;(^) 

He kahiko ia no ka wai o kaunu,(A) e. 

A kaunu anei, o ke aloha ia ? 

A ia'u la, eha oe ! 

TRANSLATION 

The upland lehua is clinker-heaped ; 
Wee flame-buds crop up on the plain ; 
The tree-trunk is hidden with rocks. 
Yet its flowers encarpet the path : 
The road this that leads to desire — 
One's travel stays not at twilight, 

(o) Laioa-kua, a precious object bound to the back; applied, therefore, 
to a child, a dear friend and the like ; the local name applied to a wind 
at Ka-lalau. 

(5) Ka-unu-kupukupu, a land in Puna. The intrinsic meaning of the 
phrase is an increasing, overmastering, passion ka-unu, a passion; kupu- 
kupu, to grow up, to increase. 

(c) Li'u-la, twilight. 

id) Poha-kau, a resting place where the burden-carrier leaned back and 
relieved his shoulders of their burden for a time. 

(e) Kaulia, old form of kauia {kau ia). It connotes the removing from 
the back the haawe, preliminary to a long rest. 

if) Kilohana, here means a comfort, a relief. 

ig) Ka-hua-nui, the elder sister of Lohiau. 

(h) Kau-nu, desire, passion. Wai o kau-nu, lit., the water of love — 
"the warm effects." 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 109 

Nor to ease one's back of its load. 
My journey's to Ka-hua-nui; 
She is the goal of my passion. 
If love be the targe of thy aim, 
And I that targe, ruin awaits thee ! 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE LAME FISHERMAN — HIS EPIC RECITAL 
CELEBRATING PELE 

On arriving at Haena, Hiiaka did not go at once to Lohiau's 
place but to the house of Malae-ha'a-koa, a man of chiefish rank, 
and one who had the reputation of being a seer. He was lame 
and unable to walk. For this reason his wife, Wailua-nui-a- 
hoano, had carried him down to the seashore and, leaving him 
there to his fishing, had gone home to her work of tapa-making. 
She was busily wielding the tapa club in the hale kuku kapa while 
Hiiaka stood outside the enclosure and sang: 

Kunihi ka mauna i ka la'i, e, 

Wai-aleale, la, i Wai-lua; 

Huki iluna ka popo ua o Ka-wai-kini ; 

Alai ia a'e la e Nounou, 

Nalo ka Ipu-ha'a, 

Ka laula ma uka o Ka-pa'a, e. 

1 pa'a i ka leo, he ole e hea mai. 
E hea mai ka leo, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The mountain turns the cold shoulder, 
Facing away from Wai-lua, 
Albeit in time of fair weather. 
Wai-kini flaunts, toplofty, its rain-cap; 
And the view is cut off by Nounou, 
Thus Humility Hill is not seen. 
Nor Ka-pa'a's broad upland plain. 
You seal your lips and are voiceless : 
Best to open your mouth and speak. 



110 Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

The woman Wai-lua-nui-a-hoano received in silence this sharp 
reproof of her haughty and inhospitable conduct, couched, though 
it was, in the veiled language of symbol. Her eyes left the 
work in hand and followed Hiiaka and Wahine-oma'o as they 
turned and faced the path that climbed the pali wall. 

Malae-ha'a-koa, lame, guileless, innocent of all transgression, 
meanwhile, sat and fished. He had cast afresh his triple-hooked 
line, blown from his mouth into the water the comminuted frag- 
ments of the shrimps whose bodies baited his hooks and, as he 
waited for a bite he chanted a song (to the god of good luck) 
that reached Hiiaka's ear: 

Pa mai ka makani o ka lele wa'a, e: 

Makani kai ehu lalo o ka pali o Ki-pti. 

I malenalena i Wai-niha i ka'u makau : 

He i'a, he i'a na ka lawaia, na Malae-ha'a-koa, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

A wind-squall drives the canoes in flight, 
Dashing the spray Against the cliff of Kipti. 
Peace, waves, for my hook at Wai-niha: 
Come, fish, to the hook of the fisher. 
The hook of Malae-ha'a-koa ! 

Hiiaka's answer to this was a song: 

Malae-ha'a-koa, lawaia o ka pali, 
Keiki lawaia oe a Wai-niha, 
Mo'opuna oe a Ka-nea-lani, 
Lawaia ku pali o Haena; 

Au umauma o ke ala haki; 
He i'a na ka lawaia, 
Na Malae-ha'a-koa, e. 

TRANSLATION 

1 hail thee, Malae-ha'a-koa, 
Thou fisherman of the cliffs. 

As a youth you fished at Wai-niha; 
Grandson thou to Ka-noa-lani, 
Fishing now 'neath the bluffs of Haena, 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 111 

Sometime breasting the steep mountain ladder. 
Send fish, O Heaven, to this fisherman; 
Send fish to Malae-haVkoa. 

As if obedient to the charm of Hiiaka's incantation, the breeze 
sank to a whisper and the ruffled surface of the ocean took on a 
calm that brought fish to the fisherman's hooks. 

Malae-ha'a-koa looked up from his work and, though he did 
not recognize Hiiaka, he had an intuitive sense that it was her 
power that had quieted the elements and, with a shrewd insight, 
he divined that she was of the Pele family. "It is you then that 
has made this day one of calm;" and he continued his address 
in song : 

Ooe ia, e ka wahine ai laau o Puna, 
E ka lala i ka ulu(a) o Wahine-kapu, e; 
He i'a, he i'a na ka lawaia, 
Na na Akua wahine o Puna, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Thou art she, O tree-eater of Puna, 
O branch of Wahine-kapu's bread- tree. 
Swarm, fish, to the fisherman's hook — 
Fish for the godlike woman of Puna. 

Malae-ha'a-koa felt a genial thrill pervading his system; new 
vigor came to him; he found himself able to stand on his feet 
and walk. Some new and wonderful power had come into his 
life. In the first flush of his ecstacy, he gathered up his fishing 
tackle, thrust the hooks and lines into his basket and walked 
triumphantly home on his own feet. Without a word to his 
wife, he began to tear down a portion of the fence that enclosed 
the house-lot. 

"What are you about?" exclaimed his wife; "tearing down 
our fence! . . But what has happened to you? Here you are 
for the first time in many years able to walk on your feet !" 

The man made no immediate reply, but kept on with his work. 
When she repeated her questionings and expressions of wonder, 

(a) Ulu o Wahine-Kapu. Wahine-kapu was the name given to the pla- 
teau over which Kaneohoalii presided, a very tabu place. As to the bread- 
fruit tree Ulu, I have been able to learn nothing; this is the first mention of 
it I have met with. 



112 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

he quietly asked, "Have you not seen two women about the 
place ?" 

"There were two women who came this way," she answered 
thoughtfully. 

"Would you think it ! They were divine beings," he exclaimed 
in a tone of conviction. "We must spread for them a feast. You 
had better prepare some luau." 

Malae-ha'a-koa himself, alii as he was, with his own hands 
set about dressing and preparing a dog for the oven. This was 
his own token of service. At his command his people brought 
the material for an abundant feast. 

Hiiaka saw from a distance the smoke of Malae-ha'a-koa's 
imu and recognized the bustle preparatory to a feast, she ex- 
claimed to her companion, "The lame man has saved the day." 

When the repast was nearing its end and the people had well 
eaten, Malae-ha'a-koa and his wife stood forth and led in the 
performance of a sacred dance, accompanying their rhythmic 
motions with a long mele that recited the deeds, the events, the 
mysteries that had marked Pele's reign since the establishment 
of her dominion in Hawaii : 

kaua a Pele i haka i Kahiki, 

1 hakaka ai me Na-maka-o-ka-ha'i.^^^ 
Mahuka mai Pele i Hawaii; 
Mahuka Pele i ona onohi, 

I na lapa uwila, 
E lapa i na mahina, la ! 
ElieH, kau mai!^^) 

He kai moe nei no Pele, 
No ke Akua ; 

He kai hoolale i na moku. 
Ha'i aku kai i Hana-kahi,(3> 

(1) Na-maka-o-Tca-ha'i, an elder sister of Pele, with whom she had 
trouble over the question of tabus, rights and privileges, involving the right 
to dominion over the volcanic fires. Pele was not only a stickler for her 
own rights and privileges but ambitious for their extension. The result was 
she had to flee for her life. (For the story of this trouble see p. V of the 
introduction. ) 

(2) Eiieli, kau mail A solemn expression often found at the end of a 
prayer. Hawaiians are unable to give an exact account of its meaning. 
The phrase kau mai by itself means oviershadow me, sit upon me, possess me. 

(3) Hana-kaM, an appelation applied to Hilo derived from the name of 
an ancient king. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 113 

I ke one o Wai-olama^^^ iluna. 
Ako ia ka hale^^^ a ke Akua; 
Ke amo 'a la ke ko'i(^> 
Ke Akua la i uka. 

Haki nu'anu'a mai ka nalu mai Kahiki ; 
Popo'i aku i ke alo o Kilauea, 
Ke kai huli i ke alo o Papa-lau-ahi. . 
Kanaka hea i ke ala — 
Kou pua'a-kanu/"^) Wahine kui lehua 
Ka uka i Ola'a, ku'u moku lehua 
I ke alo o Heeia, o Kukuena^^^ wahine. 
Komo i ka lauwili^^^ na hoalii 
I ka nahele o Puna — 
A'e, a'e a noho. 

Eia makou, kou lau kaula, la! 
Elieli, kau mai! 



ii)Wai-o-lama, the name applied to the eastern section of Hilo town, in- 
cluding the sand-beach and the river there located. 

(5) Ako ia ka hale. The hands elevated and the fingers brought to- 
gether in the form of an inverted V were, I am informed, an accepted 
symbol that might be used in place of a heiau at a time when distress or 
emergency made impossible the erection of such a structure. David Malo 
narrates a similar incident as occurring in the mythical story of Wakea 
at a time when he was in peril and beset by his enemies. 

(6) Ko'i ke Akua. There is a division of opinion as to the meaning of 
this passage. Some, including J. W. P., think it may be the shortened, 
poetical form of ko'iko'i, heavy, referring to the timber used in building 
a temple for the deity. Others take the view that the word koH should be 
given its face-value. I see in it a possible reference to pahoehoe, the plates 
of which, in their hot and nascent state, are capable of felling a forest as 
effectively as a ko'i. One expounder (Pelei-oho-lani) finds in this word 
ko'i a reference to a symbolical lifting of the thumb of the left hand as a 
sign of prayer. The arguments on the one side and on the other are not 
quite convincing. 

(7) Kou pua'a kanu. Pua'a-kanu is the name of a place in Puna, said 
to be the spot where Pele had her sexual encounter with Kama-pua'a, the 
swine-god. I look upon it as meaning the encounter itself. 

(8) Kukuena wahine, an elder sister of Pele. (Some one says the first 
born of the Pele family. This assertion is not verified by other authorities). 
She had charge of the making and distribution of the leis and of the cere- 
monies connected with formal awa-drinking. She was, in short, a sort of 
lady of the bedchamber to Pele. 

(9) Lauwili, literally, an entanglement. It refers to the lustful attack 
made by Kama-pua'a on Pele, an attack to which she gave seeming 
acquiescence. 



114 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

He kai ehu ko Kohala-loa, 
Kai apa'apa'a(i^> ko ka pali i uka; 
He kai kiei pali ko Kupehau, 
Kai pi'i hala o ka aina: 
Ke popo'i aku la i kai o Maui 
Ke kai a ka Wahine ali'i, 
O ke kai kui lehua a Pele, 
A ko'u akua la, e! 
Elieli, kau mai! 

Hiiaka was so greatly impressed with this mele that she com- 
manded Wahine-oma'o to restrain herself and observe the dig- 
nity of the occasion by eating more quietly. The young woman, 
thereupon, moderated her gusto and concluded her repast with 
less smacking of the lips ; and the singers proceeded : 

E oe mauna i ka ohu ka pali, 
Kaha ka leo o ka ohi'a, uwe: 
Ike au i ke ahi ai ala, 
Ka luahine^^^^ moe nana 
A papa enaena, wai hau, a wa'a kauhi.^^^) 
Ilaila Pepe mua, Pepe waena,^^^^ 
O Pepe ka muimui — ^^^^ 
O kihele ia ulu,^^^) ka maka hakaikea 
O Niheu^i^) Kalohe, ka maka kaha la. 
Elieli, kau mai ! 



(10) Apa'apa'a, the name of a violent wind, here used adjectively. 

(11) Luahine moe nana, Pele, who is depicted as an old woman hud- 
dled up on a lava plate. The snoring must refer to the sounds made by 
the lava while in action. 

(12) Wa'a kauhi, an unrigged canoe, without iako or ama. 

(13) Pepe mua, Pepe waena. This a detail in the development of the 
figure in which flowing lava is compared to a canoe. The pepe is a chock 
such as is put under the canoe when it is at rest on land. Mua, waena and 
muimui mean respectively at the bow, amidships and astern. 

(14) Muimui, an elided form of mulimuli, the hindmost. 

(15) Kihele ia ulu. Kihele, to ball out; ulu — the belly of the canote, 
its swell amidships, the place where the bilge would settle. The implica- 
tion is that, if the water is not bailed out, the incrusted salt will form a 
spot like the staring eye of Niheu. 

(16) Niheu, a mythological hero who is always spoken of as kalohe, 
mischievous, because of his restlessness and stirring energy. His mother, 
Hina, had been abducted by a pirate chief who lived on the high bluff of 
Haupu, on Moloka'i. Niheu and his brother Kana, whose body was a rope 
of immense length, went to their mother's rescue, in which they succeeded, 
after many adventures. The eyes of Niheu were a marked feature in his 
appearance, being described as large and searching. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth U5 

A Moloka'i nui a Hina/^'^^ 
A Kaunu-ohua^i^^ he pali, 
A kukui o Haupu.^i^) 
Haupu ke akua li'ili'i; 
Puka mai Pele, ke Akua nui, 
Me Haumea, me Hiiaka, 
Me Kukuena, me Okaoka:^^^^ 
O ke a ke ahi iki, e a ! 
He onohi no Pele, 
Ka oaka o ka lani la, e ! 
Elieli, kau mai! 

A Nana'i(2i) Ka-ula-hea,(22) 
A Mauna-lei kui ka lei. 
Lei Pele i ka i-e-i-e, la; 
Wai hinu po'o o Hiiaka ; 
Holapu ili o Haumea. 
Ua ono o Pele i kana i'a, 

ka honu o Poli-hua — ^^3) 
Honu iki, a-i no'uno'u, 

Kua papa'i o ka moana; 
Ka ea nui, kua wawaka. 
Hoolike i ka ai na Pele, 

1 na oaoaka oaka i ka lani, la ! 
Elieli, kau mai ! 

A Kaua'i, i ke olewa iluna, 
A ka pua lana i kai o Wai-lua, 
Nana mai Pele ilaila : 
E waiho aku ana o Ahu. 



(17) Hina, the goddess with whom Wakea consorted after he had di- 
vorced his wife Papa by spitting in her face. Hina became the mother of 
the island of Moloka'i From such a distinguished parentage arose the 
proverbial saying "Moloka'i nui a Hina." 

(18) Kaunu-ohua, a hill on Moloka'i between Halawa valley and Puko'o, 
where is said to repose the body of Pele, 

(19) Haupu, a hill on Moloka'i, 

. (20) Okaoka, said to be the flame-body of Pele, or the small stones, 
xUili, that entered into the composition of her body. 

(21) Nana'i, an archaic form of Lana'i. 

(22) Ka-ula-hea, a goddess with whom Wakea consorted after his 
divorce of Papa. The name also of a historic king of Lana'i, as well as of 
a kaula — prophet — attached to the disreputable set of gods that infested 
Lana'i at one time. 

(23) Poli-hua, a sandy cape on Lana'i famous for its sea-turtles. 



116 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Aloha i ka wai li'u^^*) o ka aina: 
E ala mai ana Mokihana, 
Wai auau o Hiiaka. 
Hoopa'apa'a^2^> Pele ilaila; 
Aohe kahu e ulu^2^> ai. 
Keehi aku Pele i ka ale kua loloa : 
He onohi no Pele, 
Ka oaka o ka Lani, la. 
Elieli, kau mai! 

Holo mai Pele mai ka Hikina, 
A kau ka wa'a i Mo'o-kini;^^?) 
Noho ka ua i Kumalae ; 
Ho'oku Pele ma i ke ki'i ; 
Noho i ke ki'i a Pele ma, 
A ka pua o Ko'i.(28) 
Kanaenae Pele ma ilaila ; 
Ka'i a huaka'i mai Pele 
A ka lae i Lele-iwi ;(29) 
Honi i ke ala o ka hala, 
O ka lehua o Mokau-lele;(3^> 
Oia ka Pele a kui la. 
He kunana hale ka Pu^u-lena, 
He hale moe o Papa-lau-ahi, 
He halau no Kilauea. 
Elieli, kau mai ! 



(24) Wai-U'u, full form, wai-Wu-la, mirage. 

(25) Hoopa'apa'a Pele ilaila. Pele had planted a spring at this place, 
i^ear Wai-lua, Kaua'i. Kama-pua'a, in company with two dragon-goddesses, 
Ka-la-mai-nu'u and Kilioe, who will find mention later in the story, took 
possession and moved the spring to another spot. When Pele came that 
way again, after a wordy contention with the two dragons, she slew them. 

(26) Ulu, to guard, to farm, to protect. The kahu was the one who 
offered the sacrifices and prayers that were necessary to the maintenance 
of power and life in an artificial divinity, such as many of the Hawaiian 
deities were. 

(27) Mo'o-kini, literally, the multitude (40,000) of, dragons; the name 
of a heiau in Puna. There is also a heiau in Kohala called by the same 
name. 

(28) Ko'i, said to be a kupua who had to do with carving and finishing 
the canoe. Pua seems to be epithet applied to the group of workmen who 
assisted him. 

(29) Lele-iwi, a cape on the Puna side of Hilo bay. 

(30) Mokau-lele, the name of a little land in Hilo situated near the 
point where the eruption of 1881-1882 came to a stand-still. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Mytji 117 

Haule mai Pele mai Kahiki mai ; 
O ka hekili, o ke ola'i, o ka ua loku, 
O ka ua paka o Ha'i-ha'i-lau-mea-iku 
O na wahine i ka wao o Mau-kele, la. 
Ho mai ana Pele li'u la, e ; 
Au miki, au huki ka ale kua loloa ; 
Nu'anu'a ka moana i ka lili^^^^ o Pele: 
O ke 'Kua nui ke ku'i la iluna o ka lani ; 
Wahi'a ka papa ku, ka papa i ao'a, 
Ka papa a Kane ma i he'e ai i Maui. — 
Ka Haili-opua/^2^ ke 'Kua o ka La. 
A Wai-a-kahala-loa^^^^ i akea. 

Elieli, kau mai! 
O Wa'a^^*^ ka i nana i ka auwa'a lawaia 
Ku kapa kai, e Kohala, 
O ke 'Kua lapu, e Pu'u-loa, 
Ke uwalo la i ka mea hele ; 
Ke Akua kui lehua o Kua-o-ka-la, 
Kui mai ana i Maka-noni ; 
Ka la pu'u, la helu o pua* la'a ; 
Ka la aku ho'i, e Kahuoi, i ka uka anu. 
E olohe Ko'e-ula/^^^ e mauna mai ana 
Ka hikina o ka La o Kumu-kahi ma. 
E haliko a'e ana ka a'ama/^^^ lele hihe'e; 
O Kohala ke kaula'i 'na la, 
E ka la pumehana ole o ka po ; 

(31) Lili. This word, accented on the final syllable, means to rush, to 
move with one fixed purpose in view. It is to be distinguished from UUf 
having the accent on the penult, and meaning to be angry, jealous, alienated. 
(My authority is J. M. Poepoe). The word is not given by Andrews in 
his Dictionary. 

(32) Haili-opua, the name of a deity. It means the piling-up of cloud- 
portents. 

(33) Wai-a-Jcahala-lea, the Green lake, in Puna. This was, no doubt, 
much larger and of more importance in ancient times than it is now. 

(34) Wa'a, the name of a Tcaula, soothsayer, who observed the omens in 
the heavens and instructed the fishermen. He had his station on or near 
the hill Maka-noni, in Puna. 

(35) Ko'e-ula, a family of Kupua, superhuman creatures, who had 
power over men's lives. They were, in truth, some kind of mud-worms, 
or glow-worms. They came out from their subterranean retreats to see 
Pele. 

(36) A'ama, an edible black crab whose shell has a highly decorative 
pattern. It is said to have been used as a special, or sacred food by certain 
priests. 



* In one text this is Pu-ala'a, said to be a place in Puna. I have amended 
it to make better sense. 



118 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

ka la pe'^^'^) ai, o ke ao kau aku iluna 

1 ka malama, la. 
Elieli, kau mai! 

He make no Aua'a-hea, i kalua ia 

I ka pua'a aohe ihi^^^^ ka lau ahea — 

Ka ipu kaumaha a ke Akua, 

Ka mamala kapu a na hoali'i. 

Ku'i i ka lani ka hekili; 

O ka ua loku o Ka-ula-hea;^^^) 

O ka oka'i nu'u o ke ao, 

Ka-o-mea-lani<^4^) e ua la: 
Aha o ka hala ia. 

Lili ke Akua : 

Akahi Pele a hokahoka;<4i> 
Akahi Pele la a ne'ene'e;^*^) 
Akahi Pele la a ai pau;<*^> 

1 pau i kou hoa, i oni i ke a ; 

I pahoehoe/**^ ai oe i ka mauna. 

Auhea pahoehoe la? 

Noho iho la ka lau kaula 

E ka pau(4^> hale o ke Akua — 

(37) Pe'ai, a contracted form from pe'e, to hide. In this case, the mean- 
ing seems to be to hang low in the heavens. 

(38) Ihi, another form for uhi, to cover, or covered. The ahea, or 
aheahea is a common plant that was cooked and eaten like luau. It was 
also used as a poultice, after heating. 

(39) Ka-ula-hea. See note 22. 

(40) Ka-o-mea-lani, a god of rain. He indicated his presence by piling 
up volumes of white clouds. 

(41) Hokahoka, disappointed, fooled, deceived; said of Pele in view of 
her painful experience with Kama-pua'a. 

(42) Ne'ene'e, to shift about, as Pele had to do because her back was 
pierced to the bone by the sharp points of a-a on which she lay during her 
affair with Kama-pua'a. The point of the irony is to be found in the fact 
that she was as a rule indifferent to the roughness of the bed on which 
she lay. Yet she was accustomed — so the story goes — to choose pahoehoe 
as a bed. 

(43) Ai pau, literally, to eat the whole; and for the first time. 

(44) Pahoehoe. The mention of pahoehoe in this and in the following 
line has reference to a saying, or belief, which asserted that Pele was 
covered with an armor of pahoehoe. It is as if the poet sought to banter 
her on this popular notion. 

(45) Pau hale, literally, the destruction of the house, meaning, of course, 
the deflowering of Pele. 

% 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 119 

E Kane-ula-a-Pele/^^^ o Ku-ihi-malanai-akea/*^> 
He hoalii na Pele, he noho ana ai^^^^ laau, 
Na wahine pule mana, nana i papawalu/*^^ 
Elieli, kau mai ! 

Kiope/^^^ kiope mai ana ke ahi a kanaka 
Halo o Kilauea, a i ku mau-mau wa;^^^^ 
A ikuwa mai ana ka pihe a ke akua 
Iluna, i ka pali o Mauli;<^2) 

(46) Kane-ula-a-Pele, literally, the red man of Pele, meaning Ka-moho- 
alii, a brother of Pele. He is described as having a ruddy complexion and 
reddish hair. He presided over the council of the Pele gods, 

(47) Ku-ihi-malanai-akea, one of the forms or attributes of god Ku, the 
Trade-wind. The word Malanai by itself is often used in modern Hawaiian 
poetry to signify the same thing. 

N.B. — The occurrence of the preposition e in verse 147 illustrates the 
somewhat vague and, at times illogical, use of prepositions in Hawaiian 
poetry. If I read this passage correctly, Kane-ula-a-Pele and Ku-ihi-malanai- 
akea are in apposition with hoalii, the subject of the verb noho; and, that 
being the case, instead of the preposition e we should have the particle o 
standing before Kane- ... as we find it before Ku- .... The explana- 
tion of this anomaly, it seems to me, is to be found in the demand of the 
Hawaiian ear for tone-color, at any cost, even at the expense of grammar. 

(48) He noho ana ai laau, sl session of the gods in which they partook 
in comnion of some laau, medicine, or spiritual corrective, as a sign of 
mutual amity, even as the North American Indians smoked the peace-pipe 
in token of friendly relation between the participants. This laau is said 
to have been none other than the tender buds of the a'ali'i, which was 
chewed by the members of the assembly and was deemed to be not merely 
a symbol but an active agent in the production of amity and a good under- 
standing. 

(49) Papa- wjaZw, literally, eightfold. The wahine are the Hiiaka sisters, 
seven in number. The inclusion of Kukuena fills the number to eight. 

N.B. — It should be noted that during the time of Pele's disqualification, 
or retirement, or disgrace, Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele would be the one to 
control the affairs of the Pele family. 

(50) EAope, to scatter, said of a fire, in order to extinguish it. 

(51) Ku mau-mau wa. The literal meaning is, stand in order, or, as I 
have put ft, stand shoulder to shoulder. It corresponded to and served the 
purpose of a sailor's chantey, and was employed in the ancient times to Ha- 
waiian history to give spirit and precision to the work of the men straining 
at the hauling line of a canoe-log. The koa tree has been felled and rudely 
fashioned; a strong line is made fast to one end of it, and the men, having 
ranged themselves along, rope in hand, their chief, sometimes standing on 
the log itself, gives the signal for them to be ready for a start by uttering 
the inspiring cry "I ku mau-mau wa !" "I ku mau wa," answer the men, 
and with a mighty pull the huge log starts on its way to its ocean-home. 

(52) Mauli, contracted form of Mauli-ola; the name of a kupua, a deity, 
who had to do with health, after some ideal fashion, a sort of Hygeia; 
also the name of that kupua's mystical abode. The name Mauli, or Mauli- 
ola, was also given, as I learn, to the site of the present Kilauea Volcano 
House. 



120 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

O ka huawai maka^^^^ i ane'i, 
O kanaka nana i huli-pueo<^*> ka wai. 
Pu oe i kau laau me kou makaainana;^^^^ 
Hopu au i ka'u laau, hahau^^^^ i ke Akua. 
Ku'u'a(57) a^e Pele lapu'u'na^^^ peie; 

Waiho ana ilalo, lapu'u ka moe, 

A kau la ilalo la pahoehoe ai oe. 

Auwe ! pahoehoe la, e holo e ka wa'a ; 

E ka'a ka mauna. 

Ola Hiiaka i ka poli o Pele. 

Ho'i aku e, ho'i aku iluna i ka malama. 

A'ama pi'i a'e iluna i Kauwiki;^^^) 

Iho mai a'ama i ke aka o kanaka ; 

Ho'oili(^^> a'ama, ku i ka laau; 

Lawe'a a'ama, hao'na i ka eke ; 

Kaohi paiea^^^^ i ka pola o ka malo; 

Ku ana paiea ilo' ka unuunu ; 

Lei ana paiea i ka hua limu-kala ; 

Kau ana paiea iluna i ka ala ; 

Maunu^^2) paiea, ha'alele i ka eke. 

(53) Hua-wai maka, literally, an unripe water-gourd. In this place it 
means a small collection of dew or rain-water, a water-hole, (54) a thing 
much sought after by men, even as the owl — as remarks the poet in the 
next verse — searches after it. Whether the poet Is correct in his assertion 
about the owl, is more than I can say. 

(55) Pu oe i kau laau me kou makaainana. Kou makaainana is, un- 
doubtedly, Pele. The reference is to the practice spoken of in note 48. 

(56) Hahau i ke Akua, offer to the god. 

(57) Ku'u ia a'e Pele. (In the text the ia is shortened to a). The mean- 
ing seems to be that Pele is exonerated from blame. That would not, how- 
ever, alter the facts and render back to Pele the sacredness that belonged 
to her uncontaminated body. 

(58) Lapu'u 'na Pele. This seems to have a double meaning, referring 
at once to the dismissal of hard feelings against Pele and to her rising 
up from her customary attitude in repose, that with her head crouched 
forward and her legs drawn up towards the body. 

(59) Kauwiki, a hill in Hana, Maui, famous in history. 

(60) Ho'oili, to come together in a bunch, said of fish. This is an un- 
usual use of the word, though an old Hawaiian (J. T. P.) tells me his 
mother used it in this way. It refers not to the swarming of fish, but their 
bunching together when driven. 

(61) Paiea, a species of crab that resembles the a'ama. The back- 
ground color of the paiea is black; this is strewn with spots and markings 
of dark red, producing a highly artistic effect. The specimen I examined 
was found in the Honolulu fish market and came from Kona, Hawaii. In 
spite of mutilation, it still retained a formidable claw. 

(62) Maunu paiea. The Hawaiian fisherman often prepared his bait by 
chewing it fine, after which he blew it into the water to attract the fish. 
The poet finds a parallel between this action of the fisherman and the dis- 
charge of venomous words by an angered person. 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 121 

Nie^^^^ au, Moala, ehia inu awa? 

Eha: o Ea,<64> o Honu/^S) q Kukuau/^^) q 

Hinalea/67) 
O ka apu-hihi/^^> o ka hihi-wai;^^^^ 
Ei' a'e loli-pua/^o) ei' a'e loli-koko; 
Ei' a'e loli-ka'e, ei' a'e Lelea/^^^ 
O Lelea makua, makua o Kahi-kona/'^^^ 
Nana i hanu, kaha ka ua koko : 
Ha'i'na a'e ana ka mana 
O ke Akua iwaho la, i lili. 
Elieli, kau mai ! 

Pelei-oho-lani informs me that the following verses are found 
in another version of this mele immediately following verse ^^^ : 

O kukulu ka pahu a ka leo hokiki(z;) kanawai. 
He kua(w) a, he kai(;ir) oki'a, he ala(3;) muku 

TRANSLATION 

Let the drum, tho torn, snarl out the law 

Of the burning back, deep ocean's gulf, 

And God's short bridge to heaven by the bow. 

(63) Nie, an elided form of niele, to question. 

(64) Ea, the sea- turtle. 

(65) Honu, the land-turtle. 

(66) Kukuau, a hairy, spotted crab, said to be poisonous. 

(67) Hinalea, a name applied to fish of several difEerent species, among 
which one that is rare is the Hinalea akilolo (Macropharyngodon, geoffrey, 
Quoy and Gaimard). Another less rare, though beautiful, species is the 
Hinalea fiwi (Gomphosus tricolor, Quoy and Gaimard). 

(68) Apuhihi. 

(69) Hihi-wai, a bivalve shell that is found clinging to rocks or reeds 
in fresh or brackish water streams. Its dorsum is jetty black, its front 
white, shading into yellow. 

(70) LoU-pua, loli-koko and loli-ka'e, different species of holothuriae, 
or sea-slugs, some of which are esteemed as food by the Hawaiians. They 
were, nevertheless, looked upon as kupua. 

(71) Lelea, a marine creature that is said to be slimy and adheres to 
the rocks. 

(72) Kahi-kona, said to be a god of the fishermen. 



(v) Leo hokiki, an imperfect tone caused by a torn drumhead. 

(w) Kua a. The penalty of approaching Pele from behind was death: 
she is said to have had a consuming back, 

(a?) Kai oki'a, an engulfing abyss. 

(y) Ala muku, the rainbow. (For further comments on these difficult 
passages, see notes 11, 12, and 13, on page 114.) 



122 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

Ua lili ka lani me ka ua ; 
Ua o'oki ka lani, poele ka honua 
I ka hanau ana o na hoali'i : 
Hanau ke kaikamahine ho'onou^'^^) o ka lani; 
Hemo mai he keiki kane; 
Oili ka ua koko iluna. 
Hanau o Kuwalu^'^^^ me kana kane, 
O Ku-ihi-malanai-akea ; 
A ai, e Pele, i kou aina — 
Ai'na ka ohi'a, ka ulu hala i kai o Lele-iwi. 
He moku Pana-ewa, he oka wale Ka-ii ; 
He pu'u o Pele nui. 

Kahi, e Pele, i kou aina, hoolewa ke au. 
EHeli, kau mai ! 

Ku i Wai-lua ka pou hale a ka ipo ; 
Hoolono i ka uwalo, ka wawa nui 

Ulupo^'^^^ ma oli nei ; aohe uwalo mai, e. 
Aloha ino o Ikuwa^"^^) ma oli nei. 

Ke lele la ka eka^"^^^ mua, 

Ka ino a ka makani. 

Ukiuki, kolo e, Kau-lana, 

Ka ua lele aku a lele mai : 

Lele a Puhi-lala, lele a kau-lana — 

Ka hoaka,^*^^^ e Hiiaka, e! 

Nowai ke kanaenae? 

No ka ohana a Haumea ke kanaenae. 

Ku*u 'a e Kane ke ko'a: 

1 ka ia nei manawa ia. 

No Pele, no Hiiaka no ka honua, 
Ka honua ne'i, ka honua lewa, 
Ka lani iluna. 



(73) Ho'o-nou o ka lani. This must be Pele. The word ho-onou is 
used of a person striving to accomplish some physical task, as of a woman 
straining in labor. 

(74) Ku-walu, literally, eighth in order of succession. 

(75) Ulu-po, said to be the name of a heiau at Kailua, Oahu. 

(76) iTcu-wa, the name of a month in the Hawaiian year, correspondinir, 
according to one account, pretty closely to October; according to another 
nomenclature it corresponds pretty nearly to our April. The name etymo- 
logically connoted thunder and reverberations. 

(77) Eka mua, literally, the first blast of a storm; here used figuratively 
to mean Ihe first sexual ecstacy. 

(78) Hoaka, a setting forth In figures. (Hoakaka). 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 123 

O Ana-ku/^9> ku ka aha iloko: 
O Haamo^^o) he ala i hei a'e ia, 
He pahu(8i> i kula'i 'na, he pa i a'e ia; 
He kahua i hele ia, he luana mau'u ; 
He kaunana ko, okana piko; 
He hola moena, he lawe'na ipukai; 
He ukuhi'na wai, he kaumaha ai: 
He haina no ka hale, e. 
Noa, noa ia hale — ua a'e 'a, 
Ua komohia no wai-honua. 
Ku ana o halau*^^^^ ololo, 
Ka hale o Pele i noho ai. 
Maka'ika'i mai Kini o ke Akua. 
Ho'i aku e, ho'i aku iwaho 'na ! 
He kahuna pule ole, he li'i pule ole ! 
Mai komo wale mai i ka hale o Pele, 
O ko'u Akua, la! 
Elieli, kau mai ! 

E kau ana kiko^^^^ i ke alia kiko; 
Hele a mo'a^^*^ kiko akahi nei au; 
Kaele pu'epu'e,^^^) ne'ine'i;(^^> 
Ka-ele pa-kiko-kiko. ^ ^ '^ > 



(79) Ana-ku, the name of a cave situated somewhere in the caldera of 
Kilauea, a place of assembly for the gods. Its use here is evidently for a 
highly figurative purpose, and has, of course, to do with Pele and her affair 
with Kama-pua'a. 

(80) Ha-amo, the name of the road to Ana-ku. ( Peleioholani ) . 

(81) Pahu. It is doubtful whether this means a drum or a post. In 
either case, in the smash-up of the one or the overthrow of the other, the 
figure evidently is designed to set forth the confusion caused by the catas- 
trophe — Pele's debauchment. The other figures that follow have the same 
purpose. 

(82) Halau ololo/ literally, a long shed or canoe-house, meaning a place 
of common assembly for people. The figure is applied to Pele and is in- 
tended to declare that, through her affair with Kama-pua'a she had de- 
graded herself and robbed her body of its tabu, its sanctity. 

(83) Kiko, a mark to indicate a tabu. Two ti leaves placed crosswise, 
and held in place by a pebble, would constitute a kiko. 

(84) Mo'a, literally, cooked; meaning that the tabu has expired, been 
abrogated. 

(85) Pu'e-pu'e, the hills of taro. Kaele means the division or appor- 
tioning of them. 

(86) Ne'ine'i, the more scattered, smaller, hills of taro, those that are 
nearer the bank. 

(87) Pakikokiko, the scattered taro plants that grow in the water- 
course. 



124 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ua noa ka aina; e kapu keiki; 
E kapu ke nui ; e kahe na wai ; 
E ka haki ana, ku ka opeope; 
O Kulipe'e noho i ka Lua ; 
A lele, e, na hoalii o Ku-wawa; 
O Ku-haili-mo€, o ka naele o Hawaii. 
Akahi nei au a ho'i aku nei mai ou aku la, 
A lele pakohana mai. 
Elieli, kau mai ! 

TRANSLATION 

Of Pele, her warfare in Kahiki 
With her sister Na-maka-p-ka-ha'i ; 
Of her flight to the land of Hawaii, 
A flight like the eye-shot of dawn, 
A flight like the lightning's flash, 
That rivals the full of the moon ! 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

For Pele the ocean sleeps afar. 
For Pele the godlike one ! 
A surge now cradles the islands 
And breaks on the land Hana-kahi, 
O'erflooding the sands of Wai-o-lama. 

God's temple is roofed with the fingers. 

And the thumb is lifted in earnest prayer 

By the concourse met in the uplands. 

High piles the surf that sweeps from Kahiki ; 

It breaks at the foot of Kilauea ; 

Is driven back by the hot lava plates. 

Now calls from the wayside a human voice ; 

Your suitor, Goddess who rifled the bloom 

From my Ola'an park of lehua 

That smile in the lap of Heeia 

And the wreath-goddess Kukuena. 

What a bestial and nondescript mix-up 
Embroiled our chief in the thickets of Puna ! 
What a passionate mounting ! what a stay ! 
Small show of regard for your fellow peers ! 
Wonder and awe possess me! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 125 

Wild the sea-mist at Kohala-loa, 
Sea roughed by the breeze from the upper hills, 
Sea that peeps o'er the cliffs of Kupehau, 
Invading the groves of pandamus; 
It reaches the lowlands of Maui — 
The sea of this Goddess, this Queen. 
The lehuas are twisted like garlands 
At the touch of this sea of god Pele; 
For Pele, indeed, is my god. 
Wonder and awe possess me! 

Thou mountain wall all swathed in mist. 
Now groans the mountain-apple tree; 
I see a fire of blazing rocks ; 
I see an aged dame, who snores 
On lava plate, now hot, now cold; 
Now 'tis canoe in shape, well propped, 
A chock 'neath bow, midships, astern ; 
Needs bail the waist where drains the bilge, 
Else salt will crust like staring eye — 
Gray roving eye of lawless Niheu. 
Wonder and awe possess me! 

On famed Moloka'i of Hina, 
At the pali of Unu-ohua, 
Where burn the lamps of Haupu, 
Assemble the throng of little gods. 
Then comes forth Pele, a great god, 
Haumea and Hiiaka, 
And Kukuena and Okaoka : 
If the small fire burns, let it burn ! 
'Tis the beaming of Pele's eye, 
The flashing of heavenly fire. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

Now to Nana'i of Ka-ula-hea ; 

At Mauna-lei Pele plaits her a wreath ; 

She plaits it of i-e-ie ; 

Hiiaka pelts head with ginger cone; 

Haumea anoints her body; 

And Pele eats with zest the flesh 

From the turtle of Poli-hua — ' 



126 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

A young thing, short in the neck, 
Backed like a crab from the sea, 
Like a sea- turtle plated and patterned — 
Turned into meat for Pele, 
Food for the heavenly flame. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

From the ether above Kaua'i 
To the blossoms afloat at Wailua 
Ranges the flight of Pele's gaze. 
She sees Oahu floating afar ; 
Feels thirst for the wat'ry mirage; 
Inhales the scent of mokihana — 
The bath-water of Hiiaka. 
She once had a contest there ; 
She had no tenant to guard the place. 
Pele spurns with her feet the long waves ; 
They give back a flash like her eye, 
A flash that's repeated on high. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

When Pele came voyaging from the east 

And landed at Mo'o-kini — 

The rain poured down at Ku-malae — 

Her people set up an image, 

And there they made their abode. 

With the workmen who carve the canoe ; 

And they offered prayers and gave thanks. 

Then Pele led them in journey 

To the cape of Lele-iwi, 

Where they breathed the incense of hala. 

With Mokau-lele's rich lehua 

Goddess Pele weaved her a wreath. 

They built a village at Pu'u-lena, 

Her bedroom at Papa-lau-ahi, 

A mighty hall at Kilauea. 

Wonder and awe possess me! 

When Pele fell through from Kahiki 
Bitter the rain, lightning and quaking — 
The big-dropped rain that shatters the leaves 
Of the women folk in Mau-kele's wilds. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 127 

Pele came in the dusk of the night, 
With toss and sway of the long-backed waves. 
The ocean heaved at Pele's rush; 
The great god thundered in heaven; 
The strata of earth were uptorn; 
The reef-plates broken, crushed ; and rent 
Was the surf-plank of Kane at Maui. 
What a piling of portents by the Sun-god 
Over the Green Lake Ka-hala-loa ! 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

It was Wa'a gazed on the fishing fleet. 
His watch-tower the cliffs of Kohala ; 
While the witch-ruler, O Pu'u-loa, 
Entreated the wayfaring one. 
And the goddess who gilds the lehua 
Set aglow Maka-noni's sunlit verge. 
One day for gath'ring and choosing 
The flowers devoted to worship. 
The next day in upland frosty Huoi. 
The earth-creatures glimmer and glow 
While the eastern sun tops Kumu-kahi. 
Sidewise the black crab springs from his hole 
And Kohala spreads out 'neath the orb 
That fails to give warmth to the night, 
And the Sun hangs low in the sky. 
And the clouds, they canopy heaven. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

Aua'a-hea meets death, spite of 

Steam-bath, — a boar unpurged of bristles — 

And poultice hot of aheahea. 

An herb that serves as a dish for the gods, 

A tidbit for the king's table. 

Thunder resounds in the heavens ; rain falls, 

Bitter as tears of Ka-ula-hea; 

Clouds, torn and ragged, fill the sky, 

A piled-up ominous cloud-pillar, 

A fabric reared by heaven's rain-god — 

A collect of evils was that. 



128 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

The gods were aghast at the scandal: 
For once Pele found herself duped ; 
For once Pele shifted in bed ; 
For once Pele drank to the dregs — 
The cup was the brew of her consort ; 
Her bed the spikes of a-a. 
Stone-armored, passion had slaked. 
Where then was her armor of stone ? 
The prophets, in congress assembled, 
Consult on the rape of the goddess — 
Red-headed Kane, Ku of the Trade-wind, 
Compeers of Pele, consumers of trees. 
The women of eight-fold incantations, 
Wonder and awe possess me! 

They stamp out the fire in the Pit ; 

"Stand shoulder to shoulder," their cry; 

"Shoulder to shoulder," echoes the throng 
On the heights of Mauli-ola, — 
Where the green leaf distills the water 
Men search for like hov'ring owls. 
Chew thou the herb with thy friend, 
I will offer mine to my god. 
The fault of Pele's condoned ; 
She lifts herself from her huddle in bed — 
A couch far down in the Pit — 
It now becomes plates of smooth lava. 
How like the flight of a swift canoe 
Is the flow of the pahoehoe. 
As the mountain melts and rolls away! 
Hiiaka, the darling of Pele, 
Then soars aloft to the realms of light. 
As the crab climbs up Kau-wiki — 
The crab retreats from man's shadow — 
And when these black ones huddle together 
They are easily clubbed with a stick ; 
Their bodies then are thrust in the bag. 
As the gray crab tugs at the malo's fold ; 
As he stands mid the heaped-up coral. 
While round him wave the pods of rough moss, 
Or he rests on the flat coral plate ; 
As, ta'en from the bag, he's chewed into bait, 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 129 

So men spit forth their bitter words. 
How many guests at awa, Sir Crab? 
Four gods, is the answer returned, 
Tortoise, and Turtle, and Kukuau, 
And Hinalea, and with them are 
Apu-hihi and Hihi-wai, along with 
Loli-pua and Loli-koko, 
And Loli-ka'e and Lele-a. 
Lele-a-makua fathered 
The fisherman's god, Kahi-kona. 
When he breathed, red as blood poured the rain, 
A sign of the power and wrath of the god. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 

The heavens were turmoiled with rain clouds, 
The firmament sealed, earth black as midnight, 
At the birth of the princely ones : 
The heaven-urging princess was born ; 
Then came forth a man-child, a prince. 
And the blood-red rain poured down. 
Then was born Ku-walu and her lord, 
Mala-nai, the far-breathing Trade-wind ; 
And thou, O Pele, then ate of thy land, 
Consuming the groves of ohi'a 
And Lele-iwi's palms by the sea. 
Pana-ewa still was a park ; ' 

Ka-u was made a cinder-patch ; 
By her might Pele threw up a mountain. 
Overwhelm your lands, O Pele ; 
Let your fire-streams flow! 
Wonder and awe possess me! 

Her lover's house-post stands in Wai-lua ; 

There Pele hears a call that appeals ; 

'Tis a song voiced by Ulu-p6. 

She utters no word to answer 

This pleading babel of voices. 

Now comes the first thrill to virgin flesh ; 

Impatient, the princeling crawls on his knees; 

There's plenteous downfall of tears, as when 

Rain-columns fall, or men leap and dive. 

Head-first, feet-first, into the flood. ; 



130 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

These symbols will tell the tale, Hiiaka. 

For whom do I make this offering of song? 

For the ancient stock of Haumea. 

God Kane planted the coral reefs ; 

A work that done in Fele's time ; 

For Pele, for Hiiaka the land — 

This solid ground that swings and floats 

Beneath the o'erhanging arch of heaven. 

At Ana-kii once met the gods ; the road 
Thither lay through Ha-amo ; — but now, 
Its drum is dismantled, its fence o'erleaped; 
The terrace trampled, a litter of straw, 
Champed sugar-cane, heaped odds and ends; 
A spread for mats ; a clutter of dishes ; 
There's dipping of water, serving of food. — 
What a desecration of the house ! 
The house is degraded and trodden; 
Its tabu place entered, deflowered — 
Now stands a hall of common resort 
Where once stood the house of Pele. 
Now come the Pigmy Gods on a visit. 
Be off ! be gone from the place ! 
A prayerless priest, a prayerless king is yours 
Enter not prayerless the house of Pele. 
For Pele, I swear it, is my god ! 
Wonder and awe possess me! 

The tabu flags fluttered in place, just now ; 
And now, the flags are removed by you. 
Men parcel the hills in the taro patch; 
They parcel the clumps in the taro ditch: 
The land goes free, the children secure ; 
Unvexed be the people; the waters run free; 
Food-bundles shall bulk in the patch; 
Kuli-pe'e shall keep to the Pit ; 
The princes of clamor shall fly away. 
Give place to Ku, the smoother of lands, 
The planter of forest and field. 
I go in peace from your presence forth; 
I came to you in my nakedness. 
Wonder and awe possess me ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 131 

CHAPTER XXIV 
HIIAKA LEARNS OF THE DEATH OF LOHIAU 

With a nice feeling of etiquette, Hiaaka's hosts allowed the 
day of her arrival to pass with no inquiry as to the purpose of 
her visit. But on the morning of the morrow Malae-ha'a-koa 
asked the question that put himself in sympathetic touch with 
his guests. 

"I have come to escort Lohiau as a lover to the bed of Pele," 
said Hiiaka. 

"Lohiau has been dead many days," they both exclaimed. "He 
took his own life out of a passionate infatuation for one of the 
the Hono-pu(a) women." 

"Let that be as it may," Hiiaka answered; "I will go and see 
for myself." 

Now Kahua-nui, the sister of Lohiau, had laid his body to 
rest in a sepulcher close to her own residence ; but on examina- 
tion the place was found to be empty. It was evident that the 
body had been spirited away. Hiiaka, turning her gaze to the 
mountain, discerned a ghostly form standing at the mouth of a 
cave. It was the ghost of Lohiau. In an effort to soothe and 
attract him, Hiiaka, with arms extended and face uplifted, in 
passionate utterance gave vent to her emotions : 

Ku'u kane i ka pali o Ha-ena, 
Mai na aina pali a pau loa, 
Mai Hoolulu no a Poli-hale la; 
Ku'u kane ho'i, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

At last, my dear man, at last. 

On this rugged cliff of Haena ! 

I have searched the whole mountain side. 

From Ho'o-lulu's booming fall 

To Poli-hale's buttressed flank. 

I have found thee at last, my man! 

(a) These Honopu women, two in number, were mo'o, witches, related 
to Kilioe, a famous witeh-mo'o of Hawaii, and their names were Kili-oe- 
i-ka-pua and Ka-lana-mai-nu'u. 



132 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Again she scanned the lineaments of the shadowy form if she 
might find there the picture her mind had imaged. At second 
view, the ghostly unreality of the tenuous image so greatly 
shocked her imagination by its contrast to her ideal of a true 
flesh-and-blood lover, that she amended her first utterance: 

Aole a'e nei ke kane, 
He hoa pili no ke ahiahi, 
He hoa kaunu no ke aumoe, 
No ka waena po loloa 

ke hooilo, la: 
Ku'u kane ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

This, surely, is not the lover 
To cling to one in the twilight. 
To fondle in the midnight watch 
Of a long, long, wint'ry night. 
Where, oh where art thou, my man? 

A creepy thrill came over Hiiaka as she saw the bloodless lips 
open and heard these answering words from the mouth of the 
weird object that stood on the pali wall: 

Ku'u wahine, e-e ! 
Hoohewahewa oe ia'u, la. 
Eia au la i Ka-lalau, e-e ; 

1 ka pali au o Hoo-lulu, la ; 
Ku'u wahine ho'i, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Alas, my woman, alas ! 

You wail in soul-recognition. 

I was yonder at Ka-lalau, 

Or some time perched at Ho'o-lulu. 

Surely thou art the woman, thou ! 

With the desire to soothe the bewildered soul Hiiaka again 
spoke: 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 133 

Ku'u kane i ka makani Kilihau,(a) Kili-opu,(&) 
Ke pu'e(c) ka wai o ka mauna; 
He mauna pali no Ka-lalau 
A maua e hele ai — 

Me oe, me ke kane la, ku'u kane, 
Ku'u kane o ka wa po wale, 
O ku'u wa iluna o ke alo la — 
Ku'u kane ho-i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

My man of the wind-driven mist. 
Or rain that plunges clean as a diver, 
What time the mountain stream runs cold 
Adown the steps at Ka-lalau — 
Where we shall ere long climb together, 
With you, my friend, with you. 
Companion of the pitchy night. 
When heavenward turns my face — 
Thou art, indeed, my man. 

A moment's pause and she resumed: 

E ku'u kane, e-e. 

He leo e wale ho'i kou. 

He leo no ka hanehane,(c?) 

No ka pololei(^) kani kau mauna o uka la; 

Ku'u kane ho'i, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Alas, my man, alas ! 
How altered is your voice. 
Changed to the trilling note 

(a) KUi-Jiau, the name given to a local wind accompanied by a fine rain. 
(&) Kili-opu, a name descriptive of a wind and rain-shafts that, plung- 
ing into the water, made as little splash as a skillful diver. 

(c) Pu'e This word is here used in an unusual sense to mean cold. 

(d) Hanehane, the shrill, seemingly far-off, wailing of a ghost; ghostly. 

(e) Pololei, an archaic name applied to the land shell, now known as 
pupu-kanioi. This was supposed to utter a delicate trilling cry similar to 
that of the cricket. 



134 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Of the plaintive Pololei 

That trills on the mountain ridge : 

Yet thou art, indeed, my man ! 

Kahua-nui was greatly moved when she heard the words of 
Hiiaka and said, with emotion, "It is evident you loved my 
brother, that handsome fellow — dead ! If only the woman 
had been like you! What a pity that he should have wasted 
himself on such a good-for-nothing !" 

"Tell me, pray, where did you lay your brother's body ?" 
asked Hiiaka. 

"Yonder," said she, pointing to a grass house. "Lima-loa, 
who hails from Kauna-lewa, in Mana, bound on the thatch. 
That job completed, he went away with all the men of the place 
to bewail him. We two women alone remain to keep watch 
over him. There he lies and we stand guard over his sepulcher." 

Then Hiiaka, girding herself with her divine attributes as a 
goddess of Kilauea — the power which, on occasion, availed to 
flood the plains of Puna with sounding plates of pahoehoe, or 
to heap up the rugged aa at Maukele — reached into the sepul- 
cher in search of Lohiau's body. But it was not there. It had 
been stolen away by the two mo'o-witches (Kilioe and Ka- 
lana-mai-nu'u) and lodged in a cave high up in the inaccessible 
mountain side. 

The emotions of Hiiaka at this turn of events found expres- 
sion in song: 

A Lima-loa(a) i ke kaha 
O Kauna-lewa ho'i e-e : 
Ako Mana i ka hale ohai — 
Aina ko hele la, e-e, — 
Hoopunipuni i ka malihini: 
Puni ho'i au, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

The deed this of Lima-loa, 
That wonder-monger who works 
In the barren land of Mana ; 
Who roofs Mana with ohai — 

(a) Lima-loa, the god Mirage. 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 135 

One there munches cane as he plods. 
His to deceive the stranger; 
Vm the victim of his deceit! 

Hiiaka, at the mention of Lima-loa and the part he had taken 
in constructing the house that served as a sepulcher for Lohiau, 
jumped to the conclusion that he had been the body-snatcher of 
Lohiau. Kahuanui strongly dissented from this view. "There 
can be no doubt," said she, "that my brother's body lies in that 
sepulcher at this very moment. That is the reason for my keep^ 
ing guard over the place. But why stand we here ? Let us go to 
my home." 

As Hiiaka went with her she again had sight of the ghost- 
form of Lohiau standing in the door of the cavern, and she ad- 
dressed to him this mele: 

Ako nanani maka i Wawae-nohu,(a) e-e; 
Me he nanai hale la Ka-ula i ke kai ; 
Ke amo a'e la i ka lima o Kaunu-lau, e-e ; 
Ke hoa la i ke kua o Lei-no-ai — 
He ai aloha na olua, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

His airy phantoms queer the eye 
At Wawae-nohu, and yon islet 
Ka-ula, like a lanai, looms at sea; 
While lifts the hand of Kauna-la'a 
To smite the back of Lei-no-ai : 
The sight enchants you twain. 

Hiiaka paused for a moment and then continued in a reflective 
mood : 

O Ka-ula nui ka i akaka, 

Ua po Ka-halau-a-ola (b) i ka noe ; 

(a) Wawae-nohu, the name given to a red cloud seen at sunset in the 
west from Mana, Kauai. 

(b) Ka-halau-a-ola, literally, the hall of health. The more commonly- 
used appellation Mauli-ola, was both the name of a deity and of a mystical 
place. One may infer from their use that Halau-a-ola meant rather a sort 
of house-of-refuge, a place of security from the attack of an enemy, while 
Mauli-ola had in view a mystical, beatific, condition. The former is illus- 
trated in the line describing Kama-pua'a's escape from Pele's onslaught: 

Noho ana Kama-pua'a i Tea Halau-a-ola. 
Kama-pua'a finds refuge in the hall of life. 



136 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

ka manu na'e ke lele nei 
Kai luna o Wa'a-hila, la; 
Ke noho la i Lei-no-ai: 

He ai aloha keia ia oe la, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Famous Ka-ula looms crystal clear; 
Misty and dark the Temple of Health: 
Yet the birds keep flying around 
And about the hill WaVhila. 
They settle at Lei-no-ai, 
A sight most pleasing to you. 

Hiiaka now perceived two female figures squatted at the en- 
trance of the cavern, which they had carefully blocked and were 
guarding. These were the creatures that had stolen away the 
body of Lohiau. She at once raised her voice and addressed 
them with this threatening language: 

E Aka, e Kilioe-i-ka-pua, e-e! 

Na wahine kapa ole e nene'e wale nei 

1 ka hapapa ku'i opihi, 

O ka luna i Hala-aniani,(a) la; 
Na wahine kapa ole. 

TRANSLATION 

Ah ! — Aka, and you Kilioe, 
Dowered with flowerlike beauty. 
You women with naked bodies. 
Who sometime flit o'er the reef-plates. 
Now squat over Hala-aniani! 
You shameless, you naked ones! 

The magic of these words worked their death-purpose. The 
way to the sepulchral cave was now unobstructed. As they 
came, however, to the base of the cliff, they found that the ladder 
had been removed — the mischievous work of the witches. 



(o) Hala-aniani, a small lake of fresh water ,in a cave at Haena, In 
which the writer has bathed. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 137 

Wahine-oma'o was aghast. 'There is no ladder for us to climb 
up by," said the woman. 

"Turn your face to the clififj" was Hiiaka's answer. 

The girl did so and used her best efforts to climb the moun- 
tain wall. The day was far spent and darkness would soon 
come on. Thereupon Hiiaka invoked the Sun, bidding it stand 
still at the mouth of the river Hea : 

E Kini, e hiki i Kauai, i kou aina ; 

koa maka-iwa(a) o Halawa,(&) 
Paia Kona i ou kino, 

Akua nui o Hiiaka, la. 
Hiki e, pi'i e, iho e! 
E kau i ka muli o Hea;(c) 
Kau malie oe, e ka La! 

TRANSLATION 

Come to your land to Kauai, ye hosts! 
Ye warrior-gods, keen eyes of pearl ! 
Put forth your strength, O Kona — 
The mighty goddess Hiiaka ! 

1 bid you rise, climb, and descend ! 
Now stay your flight, O Day ! 
Stand still, O Sun, o'er Hea's water ! 



(a) Koa maka-iwa, idols with eyes of mother o' pearl. To this class 
belonged Ku-kaili,-moku, the famous war god of Kamehameha. 

(6) Halawa, the largest valley on Molokai, a stronghold of priestcraft 
and sorcery. "Ua o'o na pule o Moloka'i," the incantations of Moloka'i 
are ripe, became a proverbial expression. 

(c) Hea, a stream near Haena. 



138 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 



CHAPTER XXV 

HIIAKA UTTERS MANY PRAYERS TO RESTORE 
LOHIAU TO LIFE 

Before proceeding to her task Hiiaka instructed Malae ha'a- 
koa to call in the guards stationed at Lohiau's sepulcher and to 
keep the hula going for the next ten days as an attraction to 
draw off the people from playing the spy on her performances. 

Hiiaka and her companion conquered the impossible and 
scaled the mountain wall as if their feet had the clinging prop- 
erty of the fly. Lohiau's ghost would have escaped, but with 
birdlike quickness she caught it. At her command Wahine- 
oma'o gathered certain aromatic and fragrant herbs of the 
wilderness, and having made a fire, they bruised and warmed 
the simples and spread them upon a sheet of leaves. 

While Wahine-oma'o kept fast hold of the feet, Hiiaka forced 
the soul-particle to pass in through one of the eye-sockets. It 
went as far as the cavity of the chest, then turned back and 
strove to escape. Hiiaka guarded the ways of exit and with 
skillful manipulations compelled it to go on. Reaching the loins, 
it balked again; but Hiiaka's art conquered its resistance and 
the human particle extended its journey to the feet. There was 
a twitching of these parts; the hands began to move, the eye- 
Hds to quiver; breath once more entered the body. They lifted 
and laid it on the blanket of aromatics and restoratives, swath- 
ing it from head to foot. 

Hiiaka set a calabash of water before her and, addressing 
Wahine-oma'o, said, "Listen to my prayer. If it is correct and 
faultless, our man will live; but if it is wrong or imperfect, he 
will die." 

"He will not survive," replied Wahine-oma'o gloomily. 

Kuli ke kahuna i-mua 

la ku'i, nei, anapu, iluna, ilalo 

O Hana-ia-ka-malama,(a) o Mai-u'u,(6) o Ma-a'a,(&) 

(a) Hana-ia-ka-malama, a benevolent goddess who presided over the 
tabus that were the birthright of certain chiefs. The rules and observances 
that etiquette prescribed in the life and conduct of such a chief were intri- 
cate and burdensome to the last degree. It was, for instance, required that 
an infant who inherited this sort of a tabu must not be placed in such a 
position that the sun's rays could shine on its vertex. 

(&) Mai-u'u, Ma-a'a, two goddesses (of the wilderness) whose function 
it was to string or twine leis and wreaths for the decoration of the superior 
gods. All the gods here mentioned were sometimes grouped under the ap- 
pellation Akua o ka wa po — gods of the night-time — the fact being, how- 
ever, that they worked as much by day as by night. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 139 

O Nahinahi-ana,(<^) awihi, kau Kanaloa — 
He akua, ua lele i ka lani, 
Me Kuhulu ma(.c?) — o ka hanau a Kane,(^) 
A na Wahine:(/) — o na Wahine i ka pa'i-pa'i:(^) 
O Pa'i-kua,(/^) o Pa'i-alo,(«) o Pa'i-kau-hale;(/) 
O loiele ka aha,(^) o lele wale(/) ka pule, 
A pa ia'u, pa ia oe;(m) 
Halulu i ka manawa, he upe, 
He waimaka — he waimaka aloha, e-e ! 
I e-e, holo ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Stand to the fore, O Priest; shrink not 

Tho thunder's growl and lightning's flash 

Fill heaven's vault above, below. 

Come Mistress of tabus; come ye who string leis, 

And the Goddess who mixes the dyes. 

Kanaloa, alert, soars aloft, 



(c) Nahinahi-ana, another name for the goddess Hina-ulu-ohi'a, under 
which appelation her function was to make the dyes used in coloring and 
printing the tapas. 

(d) Kuhulu ma. The particle-afflx ma indicates that this name, or cog- 
nomen rather, comprises a group — in this case a family group — of deities. 
Under the family cognomen Ku were ranged a large and important group 
of deities, to whom were given individual appelations appropriate to their 
functions. Thus, Ku-huluhulu and Ku-ka-ohi'a-laka were deities worshipped 
by the canoe-makers. Ku-hulu and his set (ma) exercised a function akin 
to that of the water-carrier. They had charge of the fabled, life-giving 
water of Kane, Wat a Kane, and served it out according to the needs «f 
men. 

(e) Hanau a Kane, offspring of Kane. This appellation is intended, ap- 
parently, to cover the whole list of names already mentioned and, perhaps, 
some to be mentioned later in the mele. 

(f) Wahine. Who these women, goddesses, were is brought out in what 
follows. 

(g) Na Wahine i lea pa'ipaH, literally, the women who clapped, or ap- 
plauded; but more closely specified as: 

(h) Pa'i-hua, the goddess who slapped the back, as was done in the 
hula. 

(i) Pa'i-alo, the goddess who slapped the chest, as was also done in 
the hula. 

(i) Pa'i-kauhale, she who knocked at the doors of the village, i.e., who 
roused the people generally. 

(7c) Aha, the charm of a pule, its ceremonial correctness, its power as 
an incantation. 

il) Lele wale, to get off the track; to go astray; to fail to hit the 
point. 

(m) A pa ia'u, pa ia oe, with results disastrous to me and to you. 



140 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

With hairy Ku, — the offspring of Kane— 
And the Women who cheer with a touch, 
On the back, the chest, or knock at the door ; 
Lest the charm depart, the prayer go wrong, 
With damage to me and damage to you — 
A pain in the head, a drooling nose, 
A shedding of tears — of love and regret. 
Now let the prayer speed on its way! 

"How was my prayer?" asked Hiiaka, turning to Wahine- 
oma'o. 

"It was a good prayer," she replied. "Its only fault was that 
it sped on too quickly and came to an end too soon." 

"In its haste to obtain recovery, no doubt," said Hiiaka. 

"Perhaps so," the woman replied. 

"Listen now to this prayer," Hiiaka said. "If it is a good 
prayer our man will recover:" 

A luna i Wahine-kapu,(a) 

A Kilauea i ka Lua ; 

A lele, e, na Hoalii,(&) 

O Ku-wa'a,(c) o Ku-haili-moe,(c?) 

O ka naele(^) o Hawaii. 

E hi'i kapu o Kanaloa, 

O Kui-kui,(/) o Koli-koli,(^) 

O Kaha-ula,(/^) o ka oaka kapa ulaula, 



(o) Wahine-kapuy a bluff in the north-western wall that surrounds the 
caldera of Kilauea, the tabu residence of god Ka-moho-alii, a brother of 
Pele. 

(&) Hoali'i, {Hoa, companion and alii, chief) ; a fellow chief. 

(c) Ku-wa'a, a god who presided at the hauling of a canoe-log. The 
shout raised on such an occasion, though it sounds almost like a repetition 
of this god's name, being "ku maumau wa," had a different origin. 

(d) Ku-haili-moe, one of the Ku gods, whose function it was to induce 
or preside over dreams at night. 

(e) Naele o Hawaii, probably meaning the whole broad area of Hawaii. 
One view would make it refer specially to the swampy lands. 

(f) Kui-kui, an archaic form of the word kukui; here meaning both the 
candle made from the kukui nut and the god who had the same under his 
special charge. 

ig) KoU-koli, the god who presided over the snuffling of the kukuinut 
candles. These were made by stringing the roasted nuts on a coconut 
leaf-rib. 

(7i) Kaha-ula, the goddess who presided over erotic dreams. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 141 

Kapa eleele, o Kapa-ahu, o Lono-makua,(^) 

ke oahi maka a ka Ua la, e-e ! 

1 e, holo e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Ho, comrades from the sacred plateau ! 
Ho, comrades from the burning gulf ! 
Hither fly with art and cunning: 
Ku, who fells and guides the war-boat ; 
Ku, who pilots us through dream-land ; 
All ye Gods of broad Hawaii ; 
Kanaloa, guard well your tabus ; 
Candle-maker, Candle-snuffer ; 
Goddess, too, of passion's visions; 
Lightning red all heaven filling — 
Pitchy darkness turned to brightness — 
Lono, come, thou god of all fire; 
Come, too, thou piercing Eye of Rain : 
Speed, speed my prayer upon its quest ! 

"How is my prayer?" said Hiiaka, turning to her companion. 
The answer was the same as before. 

Hiiaka devotes herself to gentle ministrations of healing; but 
without intermitting the chanting of prayer-songs, the burden 
of whose petition is that the Spirit of Health shall prevail in 
Lohiau and restore him completely. After again sprinkling the 
body with water from the calabash, she breaks forth ; 

la ho'uluulu ia mai au, 
E Kane-kapolei(a) imua e-e; 
la ulu Kini o ke Akua, la ; 
Ulu mai o Kane, o Kanaloa — 
O Hiiaka, kaula mana ia, e-e, 

(i) Lono-mahua, a god one of whose functions was to act as guardian 
of fire. When Pele and Kama-pua'a fought together and Kama-pua'a had 
succeeded in extinguishing the fires of Kilauea, Pele, in dismay, appealed 
to Lono-makua, saying, "There is no fire left." Lono-makua calmly pointed 
to his armpit and said, "Here is the fire, in these fire-sticks," (aunalci and 
auUma). The armpit was his place for carrying these sticks. When the 
Hawaiians first saw a White man with a lighted pipe in his mouth, smoke 
issuing therefrom, they said, "Surely, this is the great god Lono-makua ; 
he breathes out fire." 

(a) Kane-kapolei, god of flowers and shrubs. 



142 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

Nana i ho'uluulu i na ma'i — 
A a'e, a ulu, a noho i kou kuahu. 
Eia ka wai la, he Wai Ola, e-e ! 
E ola, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Come, enter, possess and inspire me ; 
Thou first, God of the flowery wild ; 
Ye roving sprites of the wildwood ; 
And master gods, Kane and Loa ; — 
Hiiaka, who calls you, lacks not 
In power to heal and inspire — 
Pray enter, and heal, and abide 
In this one, your patron and guard. 
Here is water, the Water of Life. 
Give us this Life! 

As in archery the character of the arrow, the skill of the 
archer, and the caprice of the air-currents that blow athwart the 
course of the arrow's flight may severally or collectively make 
or mar success, so likewise with the kahuna and his praying, 
success or failure were spelled by the quality of his prayer-shaft, 
by the manner of his utterance of it, and lastly, by the physical 
and moral state of the atmosphere as to the existence or absence 
of noise and disturbance. 

It was not, then, through a mere silly curiosity or pride of ut- 
terance that Hiiaka appealed to her attendant to learn what she 
thought of her prayer. Nor was it a vain and meaningless com- 
pliment when the latter declared the prayer to be good, the con- 
ditions favorable. At the same time she could not repress the 
criticism that from her emotional stand-point of view, the prayer 
seemed short. 

Again Hiiaka sprinkled the body with water from the cala- 
bash while she uttered this prayer-song : 

Eia ana au, e Laka,(a) 

(a) Laka, a god, or demi-god of various functions, such as fishing, agri- 
culture, and house-building. Malo mentions Ku-ka-ohi'a-Laka as a god 
invoked by canoe-makers. Laka is evidently derived from the name Rata, 
which in Tahiti, Raro-tonga and New Zealand is the name of the ohi'a 
tree. Laka is to be distinguished from Laka, the goddess of the hula. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 143 

Kane a Ha'i-wahine(&) — 
Ha'i pua o ka nahelehele, 
Haki hana maile o ka wao, 
Houluulu lei, ho'i, o Laka ; 
O Hiiaka, kaula mana ia, e-e, 
Nana i ho'ouluulu na ma'i. 
A a^e, a ulu, a noho i kou kahu : 
Eia ka Wai la ; he Wai Ola, e-e ! 
E ola, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Here stand I in stress, Laka, 
Thou husband of Haina-kolo. 
What flowers have I plucked in the wild. 
What maile stripped in the forest, 
To twine into wreaths for Laka: 
Thus toiled the seer Hiiaka; 
And her's was the magic of cure. 
But come thou, mount, enter, possess ; 
Give life to thy servant and priest. 
Here's water, the Water of Life! 
Grant Hfe! 

The work of completely restoring Lohiau by the necromancies 
of the kahuna, like a process of nature, required the ripening 
hand of time. The utterance of prayer must be unremitting. 



(6) Haina-kolo, the same as HaH-wahine, the name used in the Hawaiian 
text. Ha'ina-kolo is a name that spells tragedy. She was a princess of 
Hawaii who married a mythical being, Ke-anini-ula-o-ka-lani and went 
with him to his home in the South. Being deserted by her husband, after 
the birth of her child, , she started to swim home to Hawaii. Ar- 

riving in a famished condition in Kohala, she ate of some ulei berries with- 
out first making an offering to the gods. For this offense she was afflicted 
with insanity, and being distraught, she wandered in the wilderness until 
her repentant husband sent for her and restored her by his returning love. 



144 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

CHAPTER XXVI 

HIIAKA CONTINUES HER PRAYERS 

While Hiiaka in her ministrations did not omit anything that 
might aid and expedite Lohiau's physical recovery, her chief 
reliance was in the spiritual aid of the gods; for which purpose 
prayer followed prayer like the pictures in a moving show : 

He Mele Kunikuni no Lohiau 

Kulia, e Uli,(a) 

Ka pule kanana ola i mua o ke kahuna: 

Kaulia i ke Alohi-lani;(&) 

Kulia i Kupukupu o-luna nei. 

Owai Kupukupu ?(r) 

O Ilio nli,(d) o IHo mea,(^) 

O Ku-ke-ao-iki;(/) 

O Ku-ke-ao-loa;(^) 

O Ku-ke-ao-poko;(/j) 

O Ku-ke-ao-apihapiha(i) o ka lani; 

O ke Kanaka (/) o ka mauna; 

O na hoa o ka ulu(^) laau; 

(a) UU, the chief aumakua of sorcery, but at the same time having 
power as a healer if she would but exercise it. 

(6) Alohi-lani (literally, the shining heavenly ones) ; the notions that 
prevail as to its precise meaning- in this place are vague. 

(c) Kupukupu, a benevolent deity who healed diseases and who caused 
vegetation to flourish. 

(d) UU. In this connection the word means black. Ilio is a cloud, 
(c) Mea, yellow. Ilio mea, a yellow cloud. 

(f) Ku-ke-ao-iki, a form of the god Ku, a small cloud — ^hand-size — that 
grew and grew until it became ominous and seemed to fill the heavens. 

(g) Ku-ke-ao-loa, a cloud-omen grown to full size, 

ih) Ku-ke-ao-poko, said to be a cloud that quickly dissolved itself in 
rain. 

(i) Ku-ke-ao-apihapiha, a sky full of small clouds, probably the same 
as our "mackerel sky." All these different kinds of clouds are forms in 
which Ku showed himself. 

ij) Kanaka o ka mauna. This undoubtedly means Ku-pulupulu, a god 
of the canoe-makers. He seems to have had much influence over the lawless 
Kini Akua. He it was who contracted for the building of a canoe for the 
hero Laka. 

(fc) Uhu laau, another form of ulu; a shady place. 




THE CLIFFS OF KALALAU 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 145 

E ku ai, e hina(/) ka omaka.(m) e pule. 

Ua kana:(n) kahe ka wai,(<?) e Ka-hoalii;(/>) 

Moku i ka piko,(^) e. 

imi, imi, o nalowale, i loa'a e — 
Loa'a kau hala, uku i ka oiwi. 
No ke aloha i kono, haele maua ; 

1 ike aku au i ka uwe ana iho, e. 
Eli-eli kapu, eli-eli noa. Ua noa-a ! 

TRANSLATION 

Attend, o Uli : a prayer this for life, 
Poured forth in the house of the priest. 
Let it touch the hearts of the shining band, 
The princes who rule in the heavenly courts. 
Who is this healer named Kupukupu? 
His are the soot-black swine, the yellow dog; 
The tiny cloud-bud and the cloud full-blown; 
The cloud quick with rain, and the sky 
That is mottled and checkered with clouds ; 
The tall Man, the Lord of the Mountain ; 
His fellows who rest in the tree-shade — 
Bent-kneed, they pray in their forest-temple. 
Suffice it: here's flowing bowl, Hoalii. 
Seek the God ; stay not till you find him. 
If at fault, an offering this for your flesh. 
The twain of us came at the call of love, 
That my tears might pour with the others. 
Profound the tabu ; profound be the peace ! 
It is peace! 

Prayer followed on the heels of prayer : 



(Z) Hina, to sit or kneel for prayer. 

(w) OmaTca, a quiet, silent, place in the wilderness suitable for prayer. 

in) Kana, another form of Tcena, enough. 

(o) Wai, the awa cup. 

(p) Ka-hoaliij one of the gods who came with Pele from Kahiki. 

(q) PiTco. The operation of trimming the thatch over the door of a 
house was a ceremonious operation and was termed oki ka piko. No one 
would think of sitting in the doorway or of standing on the door sill; it 
was sacred to Ka-hoalii (mentioned in the 14th line.) 



146 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Kulia, e Uli,(o) ka pule kanaenae ola; 

Kulia i ke Alohi-lani. 

Ui 'a kupua o luna nei : 

Owai kupua o luna nei ? 

O Ilio-uli(c) okalani; 

O Ilio-mea,(c?) o Ilio-ehu;(^) 

O Ku-ke-ao-iki;(/) 

O Ku-ke-ao-loa;(^) 

O Ku-ke-ao-poko;(/^) 

O Ku-ke-ao-awihiwihi-ula(^) o ka lani; 

O Kanaka (/) o ka mauna, 

Na Hoa(^) hele o ka ulu-laau; 

Na Keo-lani,(/) i ku ai, e Laka; 

O Maka'a-pule.(w) 

Kahe ka wai o na Hoalii ; 

Nei wale ka pili moku; 

Wawa, kupina'i, kuwawa o Ku-haili-moe;(n) 

O Ha'iha'i-lau-ahea;(o) 

O na Wahme(p) i kapa ku, i kapa eleele — 



(a) Uti, the arch-goddess of sorcery and anaana (praying to death). 
It seems to be implied that she has healing power as well as power to kill. 
Or, it may be, she is invoked, retained, to keep her from enlisting on the side 
of the opposition. 

(c) Ilio-uli o ka lani, the slaty-blue clouds, here appealed to as kupua, 
beings possessed of power for good or ill. 

id) Itio-mea, a white cloud (cumulus). 

(e) lUo-ehu, a cloud having a ruddy tint from the light of the sun. 

if) Ku-ke-ao-iki, clouds broken up into small fragments, like our 
mackerel sky. 

(g) Ku-ke-ao-loa, the long stratus clouds, here represented as an em- 
bodiment of Ku. 

ih) Ku-ke-ao-poko, a small compact cloud standing detached from its 
fellows. 

(i) Ku-ke-ao-awihiwihi-ula, a ruddy cloud, ragged at its border. 

(;■) Kanaka o ka mauna, probably the Kini Akua, the host of elfins, 
kobolds and brownies — godlings — that peopled the wilderness. 

(k) Hoa hele o ka ulu-laau, an apposition clause that explains the 
previous appellations. 

(O Na Keo-lani, goddesses of healing. 

(m) Maka'a-pule, a term applied to an ohi'a fruit (mountain apple) 
when so ripe that its seed rattled within the drupe. It was then in the 
finest condition for eating. 

(n) Ku-haili-^moe, the same god as Ku-haili-moku, who bedecked the 
land with greenery, a god also worshipped by the canoe-makers. 

(o) Ha'iha'i-lau-ahea, said to be the same as Ha'ina-kolo. 

(p) Wahine i kapa ku, the woman who stood in the outskirts of the 
assembly. 



Fele and Hiiaka — A Myth 147 

Na ke aloha i kono e hele ; 
Hele mai la au, o Hiiaka, 
I ke aloha a ka hanau : 
Hanau ke ola ; 
A ola, a ola, e-e ! 

This mele-pule, though closely resiembling, ,in many parts 
identical with, that on page 144 seems worth reproducing here. 

TRANSLATION 

Speed, O Uli, this prayer for health ; 
Give it wings to the heavenly courts. 
The question is asked the shining band : 
Who are the spirits of power up here ? 
The azure Cloud-god that floats on high; 
God Ku of the Cumulus cloud-bank; 
Ku of the Mackerel-patched sky ; 
Ku of the Cloud that roofs the horizon ; 
Ku, the Cloud-god sailing apart ; 
And Ku, the Cloud-god, ruddy and ragged ; 
The Heroes, too, who dwell in the mountains, 
Our Comrades they, who range the forest ; 
Women-gods of the ether who heal — 
Powers that hold with thee, God Laka : 
He gives men the rich-ripe mountain-apple. 
The Gods pour out their healing water; 
The bunchy thatch-grass waves in awe ; 
God Echo whose voices rumble afar ; 
And the Landscapist Ku and the Princess 
Who plucked and ate the fateful ulei. 
The women who sit in the outskirts, 
All clad in robes of funeral black — 
Great love has prompted their coming. 
I Hi'iaka, the shadow, have come, 
From love to my birth-mate, my sister. 
Be this, then, the birth-place of life ! 
Oh for life ! for life ! give us life ! 

"How is it with you, O Lohiau ?" inquired Hiiaka. 
"Continue to kneel at the shrine. Prostrate yourself at the 
lake of our mistress," answered Lohiau. 



148 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Thereupon, Hiiaka, greatly encouraged, resumed her praying 
and chanted in a clear tone : 

A ka luna i Kilauea, 
A Wahine-kapu i ka Lua ; 
Kapu na papa elima o ka Lua; 
Kapu Kilauea i ke ahi a ka Wahine — 
Kapu ia Ka-moho-alii, he alii hanau kapu. 
E ho'i au e ike me ku'u haku. 
Ke haku'iku'i mai nei ka lani ; 
Owaowa ka honua; 
Ua moe kanaka kai o ka honua ; 
Ua ala kukui a Kane. 
Kane-po, hooulu mai; 
He hiamoe kapu kou hoala ana. 
E ala e, Kahiki-ku; 
E ala e, Kahiki-moe; 
E ala ho'i au, ua hiki mai oe; 
Ua ala ka lani, ua ala ka honua ; 
Ua ala ka uka, ua ala ke kai. 
Akahi la o ke aloha i hiki mg^ ai; . 
Ke ho'onaue nei, naue ku'u houpo. 
I ka houpo ka lele hewa a Kane ; 
Ilaila ke kia'i ho'iho'i aina. 
Ala a moe i ke ka'i o ko haku ; 
Ala mai no, e ! 
Eia au o Hiiaka. 
Ala mai, ho'i ! 
(lelHoloe!) 

TRANSLATION 

On the heights about Kilauea; 

With the sacred dame in the Pit — 

Five tabu strata has Kilauea ; 

Tabu's the Pit through the Goddess' fire; 

Tabu hedges round Moho-alii — 

A tabu god was he from his birth. 

To these will I go with my lord. 

The heavens above are in turmoil ; 

The earth beneath is riven; 

The Sea-powers of earth are sleeping; 

The Torch of Kane has risen:' 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 149 

God of the Night, inspire me ! 
Thy sleep needs a sacred waking. 
Awake, O Kahiki-ku ! 

Awake, O Kahiki-moe ! 

I, too, will awake at thy coming. 

The heavens are awake, and the earth 

Is astir from mountain to sea. 

To-day comes the first pang of love ; 

My heart, my heart, how wildly it moves ! 

My breast is torn, torn by God Kane. 

In the breast lurks the mischief of Kane — 

The heart is the fortress of Honor's guard. 

Awake ! repose in thy sovereign's care. 

1 pray thee awake ! 
Here am I, Hiiaka. 

Awake, I beg and entreat thee ! 
Let my prayer speed its way! 

To the grist of prayers which Hiiaka, with chanting tone, had 
already brought to the prayer-mill of the gods, she now added, 
or — following the figure employed by the Hawaiian narrator -^- 
laid on the altar of the gods (a) (uhau) the following; her mental 
attitude being that of one who was angling — again to borrow 
the Hawaiian figure — literally, fishing (paeaea) (b) for a favor, 
a benefit: 

Ke hooulu au, e Kane-kapolei, i mua, 
I o ulu Kini o ke Akua ; 
Ulu mai o Kane, o Kanaloa. 
O Hiiaka au la, o ke kaula, a ke kahuna, 
Nana i hana, nana i hooulu ; 
A hooulu au i ke ola, a he ola no ; 
He ola ho'i kou, e Lohiau-ipo i Haena ; 
A ola ho'i, he ola; 
He ola nui, he ola iki ; 
He ola a kulia i ka nu'u ; 
A ola oe, e Lohiau-ipo. 
I e! holo e! 



(a) Uhau, to lay down or offer a prayer, as, e.g., uhau i ka pule. The 
offering of the prayer Is considered as a physical act, the same as laying 
down a pig or a fish on the altar of the god, 

(&) Paeaea, a fishing rod; the act of fishing, Hiiaka is represented as 
fishing for a favor. 



150 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

To the temple, its healing rite, 
I summon you, Kane-kapolei ; 
Pray gather, ye Wilderness Host; 
Come Kane, and come Kanaloa ; 
Hiiaka, prophet and priest, am I: 
It is mine to inspire, to perform : 
I have striven for life and life came — 
Your life, Lohiau of Haena — 
Aye, Hfe, Hfe indeed; 
Life in its fullness, life in detail; 
Life to stand at the temple shrine : 
Such life be yours, beloved Lohiau! 
Urge on ; let the cure work ! 

Hiiaka chanted also another prayer: 

E Lono, e Lono, e Lono-ku-lani, 
E Lono noho i ka wai, 

houlu oe, o inana oe ; 
Hoinana i ke ola; 
Ho'opu'epu'e ana oe i ka wai, 

1 ka Wai, ka Wai Ola a Kane, 
Ka Wai Ola a Kanaloa, 

I ka Hikina, i ke Komohana — 
I wai hua, i wai lani! 
I e, holo e! 

TRANSLATION 

O Lono, Lono, God Lono on high, 

Lono, whose realm is the watery vast — 

Inspirer, promoter, art thou ; 

Give aid to this work of perfect cure ; 

Thou givest life's magic to water, 

The living water, Water of Kane, 

The living Water of Kanaloa, 

Which flows in the east, flows in the west. 

In the bubbling fount, in heaven's rain. 

Speed now, urge on the cure ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 151 

Prayer quickly followed prayer, like the moving pictures in a 
shifting scene: 

Eia ana au, e Laka,(a) 
Kane a Ha'i-wahine ; 
Ha'i pua o ka nahelehele, 
Ha'i hana maile o ka wao, 
Houluulu lei ho'i o Laka; 
O Hiiaka kaula mana ia, e; 
Nana i ho'uluulu na ma'i ; 
A a'e, a ulu, a noho i kou kahu. 
Eia ka wai la, he Wai ola, e ! 
E ola, ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Here stand I in stress, Laka, 

Thou husband of Ha'inakolo; 

What flowers have I plucked in the wild, 

What maile stripped in the forest, 

To twine into wreaths for Laka ! 

Thus toiled the seer Hiiaka; 

For hers was the magic of cure. 

But come thou, mount, enter, possess ; 

Give life to thy servant and priest. 

Here's water, the Water of Life! 

Grant life in abundance, life! 

The conclusion of this prayer saw Lohiau quite restored to 
consciousness, but in a state of utter bewilderment as to his sur- 
roundings. He found himself most unaccountably in a small 
rocky chamber with two women who were utter strangers in at- 
tendance on him. Before him, as he looked out, hung the apron 
of a mountain precipice, while in the distance and far below tossed 
the ocean, a familiar sight that called him back to earth at once, 
stirring pleasant fancies in his mind and waking in him a yearn- 
ing for the sea. 

(a) Laka, a god, or demi-god, of various functions, including fishing, 
agriculture and a participation in house-building. He was also one of the 
gods invoked by canoe-builders. The name is evidently the same as Rata, 
the appellation, in Tahiti, Raro-tonga and New Zealand, of the lehua (Metro- 
sideros lutea ) . N. B. This Laka is to be carefully distinguished from the 
female Laka, the goddess and patron of the hula as well as necromancy. 



152 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

CHAPTER XXVil 

THEY DESCEND FROM THE CLIFF BY RAINBOW 

BRIDGES — LOHIAU, RESTORED, GOES 

A-SURFING 

Hiiaka's work of healing was now accomplished. She had 
seen the cold and withered form gain fullness, warmth and 
color; been cheered by the oo-a-moa, the crowing sigh that 
came with the inrush of air to the lungs — and now he stood 
before her in physical perfection. 

The question — asked by Wahine-oma'o — how they were to 
climb down from their inaccessible position was answered by the 
sudden appearance of three rainbows that arched themselves 
conveniently at their feet, and on these, as on ladders, they 
climbed from the dizzy height to the sleeping village below. 
Under the priestly guidance of Hiiaka, they all now resorted to 
the ocean and with the aid of its waters performed the rite of 
cleansing from the ceremonial defilement that came from the 
touch of a corpse. With this cleansing each one of them seemed 
to have a new birth of physical perfection. As they came up out 
of the water their bodies seemed actually to glow with a fresh 
and radiant beauty. 

The touch of salt water woke in Lohiau a longing he could not 
resist. He took his surf-board and, with face to the incoming 
rollers, made for the open sea. The place was one where he had 
often sported before, prescriptive custom having in fact set it 
apart for the exclusive use of the chiefs. 

The "fish" — as the Hawaiians called the Milky way — was 
already declining in the west and beginning to pale at the ap- 
proach of a new day, and Lohiau still rode the waves. 

That same night Kahua-nui, Lohiau's sister, woke from her 
sleep with a start. She went out of doors and, lifting her eyes to 
the mountain wall, saw a light gleaming in the cave where lay 
her brother's body. She rubbed her eyes to remove the cobwebs 
of sleep — yes, there it was, a quivering hght, set like an eye 
in the socket of the mountain wall, and figures moving about. 
She rushed back into the house where slept her husband and 
stirred him with her foot. 

"What are you about!" demanded the man. "Do you want to 
kill me?" 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 153 

"Get up; there's a fire burning in the cave, up the mountain. 
Come !" 

"What crazy fit possesses you," muttered the man as he went 
out. "To knock my wind out with such a kick ! — and there's 
no fire up there, merely a star sinking in the west. That's all 
there was to it. Go to bed!" 

The woman was silenced but not convinced. Her sleep con- 
tinued to be broken. She fancied that she heard a human voice 
calling to her; yet, on listening, she could distinguish only the 
moaning of the surf. In her restlessness she wandered forth 
again and stood in the cool vault of night. The endless mono- 
tone of the ocean filled her ears, but it told her nothing new. 
She sought her bed again and turned her face to the mat in a 
resolute effort to sleep. She dozed, but the subtle goddess evaded 
her. Thoughts of her brother floated through her mind, and 
the booming of the surf now seemed to assume a more intimate 
tone and by some witchery of the imagination led her out under 
the winking stars, closer to old Ocean's moan, and made her 
think: how Lohiau did delight in the surf; what pleasure he 
took in riding the billows! Thus she murmured to herself. At 
that moment her straining vision detected an object moving with 
the waves. "Some man surfing in our tabu waters — yet how 
can that be? Have not all the men of the village gone over to 
Niihau ? Paoa urged them to go." She moved along the beach* 
By this time it was dawn, 

"There comes a woman," said Wahine-oma'o. 

"His sister, Kahua-nui," Hiiaka remarked quietly. 

Wahine-oma'o called to her by name and went forward to meet 
her. 

"Ah, it is you two women," Kahua-nui exclaimed. 

"Where's your husband?" Wahine-oma'o asked. 

"Asleep in the house." 

"Go and call him; tell him to take his canoe and go over to 
Niihau and bring Paoa," said Wahine-oma'o. "Lohiau is alive 
and well. Look, there he comes on the surf-board." 

In a tumult of joy the woman ran to the house and shouted 
the tidings to her husband. Nakoa-ola, girding his malo about 
him as he came out of the door, made all speed for the halau ; 
shoved the canoe down the slope of the beach; looked to the 
lashings of the outrigger; saw that the paddles, bailer and what 
not were in place; stepped the mast; arranged the sail and the 



154 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

sheet; then, with a final push, he leaped in astern and set his 
course for Niihau. 

The story of Lohiau's miraculous return to life spread like 
wild fire until the whole population of the little island of Niihau 
was buzzing with the wonder. Paoa, in his haste and excite- 
ment, neglected the ordinary civilities and failed to invite his 
visitor to "come in and eat." They took canoe on the instant 
and were the first to arrive at Haena. 

At sight of Lohiau, whom they found quiet and thoughtful, 
surrounded by a houseful of people, in conversation with his 
sister and two women who were strangers, they set up a wailing 
cry of joy that was chorused by the whole company. 

The great raft of attendants, men and women, round-eyed 
with wonder, reached Haena in successive arrivals later in the 
day. First came those who eagerly credited the report of Lohiau's 
resurrection; scattering along after them, strangers and those 
who were in any degree skeptical of this great mystery. Each 
hour saw a bunch of new arrivals, not from Niihau alone but 
from all parts of Kauai. 

When Kahua-nui and her husband had first wept over Lohiau, 
embracing and kissing him, uttering their welcome in joyous 
cries of wailing, they turned to the two women, the strangers, 
for Lohiau bade them extend their welcome to "these two women 
who have brought me to life again." 

"Where are they from ?" Kahua-nui asked. 

"I know not ; I only know they have given me life." 

"It was worth while for my brother to have died to secure two 
such beautiful women as you," said Kahua-nui as she faced 
Hiiaka. 

"The other one is more beautiful than we are," Hiiaka an- 
swered. 

"Where is she?" 

"Toward the Sunrise," Hiiaka answered. 

"What is the name of the country?" queried Kahua-nui. 

"Hawaii." 

"Who is the woman," persisted Kahua-nui. 

"Her name is Pele." 

"I know her." Kahua-nui spoke with lower tone. 

"She it was who sent us to fetch Lohiau. We found him dead. 
1 worked according to my ability — you see, our man is ahve 
again." 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 155 

CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE GODS COME TO LOHIAU'S FEAST 

Under the direction of Kahua-nui — the woman to whom be- 
longed the executive mind — proclamation was made through- 
out the land, in the name of Lohiau, commanding all the people 
to collect the necessary food and material in preparation for a 
great feast, that they might celebrate properly Lohiau's return 
to life. 

It was to be an occasion of unparalled interest and importance : 
a chief, famed for his manly beauty and popular talents, rescued 
from the grave ; the magician who had accomplished this marvel, 
a woman of surpassing beauty; an old-time feast, with its lavish 
profusion ; the hula, with its lyric and epic thrills : a combination 
of attractions that appealed to every taste, whether of sage, epi- 
cure, frivolous dilettante or dull-witted peasant, it was sure to 
be the event of a lifetime. All were invited and all came. 

The halau in which the people assembled was a temple of 
Flora, or rather of her Polynesian sister Laka. At the request 
of Hiiaka, whose every wish was law, one half of the hall was 
screened off by a rustic partition as a special feasting hall for 
the gods. ''My relatives," said Hiiaka, "are numerous." 

In this part of the halau were laid the sacrificial viands for the 
supply of an immense host. Having commanded silence, Hiaaka, 
after the manner of prayer, invited the attendance of the gods. 
A hush fell upon the assembly ; the air was stirred by the fanning 
of many wings. No speech, no human voice, only the gentle 
clash of wooden dishes, the rustle of leaves, the gurgle of deep 
potations and the subdued sounds of gustation came from the 
place into which no human foot or eye dared intrude. At the 
conclusion of the affair, when Hiiaka, in priestly fashion, had 
pronounced the absolving word noa and the stewards, were 
again at liberty to enter the precinct where the immortals had 
just now celebrated their symposium, it seemed, at first glance, 
as if nothing had been touched. The leafy bundles of fish and 
fowl and meat remained unopened, but they proved to be empty ; 
the coconuts, unbroken, were yet devoid of meat; the bananas 
were found to be but hollow skins. The substance, the essence, 
had been filched away by some inscrutable power. This was the 
ai inoino — consumption to the last morsel — practiced by the 
gods. 



156 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

It was a solemn affair, after all, this parting feast, at which, 
in spite of the babel of voices, weighty affairs had to be settled. 
Malae-ha'a-koa published the fact that the beautiful woman who 
sat in their mist was Hiiaka, the sister of Pele ; that her art had 
captured the unhappy flitting ghost of Lohiau, restored it to its 
renovated and matchless form and that, in fulfillment of her 
errand, she was about to lead him away with her to be the bed- 
mate of the goddess who ruled the volcano. 

Paoa — he whose tempestuous nature had not long ago sworn 
vengeance against the author of Lohiau's taking-off — now spoke 
up and declared his purpose to go with his master on this his 
new and strange adventure. Lohiau restrained him. 

"I go with these two women. If I die — so be it — 'twere a 
glorious end, — with these two who rescued me from the grave 
and brought me back to the delights of your society. If I live 
and make my abode on Hawaii, it will be for you to come and 
share the blessings of my new home." Then, addressing himself 
specially to Paoa, "You will remain here, as my deputy, ruling 
over the land. If my adventure fares well, I will come and fetch 
you — if . . . ill, your coming would not advantage. . . . You 
shall stay here." 



CHAPTER XXIX 
HIIAKA'S ADDRESS TO CAPE KAENA 

The mountains were still in shadow, but the star of morning 
was on high and rosy fingers in the east heralded the approach 
of day, taming the flare of the torches and making them almost 
a superfluity as the canoe — with Hiiaka occupying the pola, 
Lohiau in the stern holding the steersman's paddle and Wahlne- 
oma'o ensconced in the bow — curvetted to the waves and shot 
out into the blue sea. One paddle-stroke and the craft had 
cleared the land, another and it had traversed the heaving chan- 
nel of le-ie-waena, another and it was beached on the sands of 
Mokuleia. At this point Hiiaka parted from her two companions, 
directing them to call for her with the canoe at a designated 
place. 

Hiiaka's first care was to pay her respects to the aged one, her 
ancestor, Pohaku-o-Kaua'i ; after that to hex ancestral divinity 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 157 

Kaena,(o) a name in modem times bestowed on the western cape 
of Oahu. She turned this point and passed into the sweltering 
lea where the sun poured its merciless heat and, as she climbed 
the slope of the Waianae mountain, looking back on the route 
just accomplished, according to her custom, she uttered her com- 
ments in song: 

Kunihi Kaena, holo i ka malie; 

Wela i ka La ke alo o ka pali; 

Auamo mai i ka La o Kilauea; 

Ikiiki i ka La na Ke-awa-ula, 

Ola i ka makani Kai-a-ulu Kohola-lele — 

He makani ia no lalo. 

Haoa ka La i na Makua; 

LiH ka La i Ohiki-lolo; 

Ha'a-hula le'a ke La i ke kula, 

Ka Ha'a ana o ka La i Makaha ; 

O'i ka niho o ka La i Ku-manomano; 

Ola Ka-maile i ka huna na niho; 

Mo'a wela ke kula o Walio; 

Ola Kua-iwa i ka malama po; 

Ola Waianae i ka makani Kai-a-ulu, (a) 

Ke hoa aku la i ka lau o ka niu. 

Uwe o Kane-pu-niu(&) i ka wela o ka La; 

Alaila ku'u ka luhi, ka malo'elo'e, 

Auau aku i ka wai i Lua-lua-lei. 

Aheahe Kona,(c) Aheahe Koolau-wahine,(rf) 

Ahe no i ka lau o ka ilima. 

Wela, wela i ka La ka pili i ka umauma, 

I Pu'u-li'ili'i, i Kalawalawa, i Pahe-lona, 

A ka pi'i'na i Wai-ko-ne-ne-ne ; 

Hoomaha aku i Ka-moa-ula; 

A ka luna i Poha-kea ^ 

Ku au, nana i kai o Hilo: 



(a) Kai-a-ulu^ sl sea-breeze that comforted Waianae. 

(&) Kane-pu-niu, a form of god Kane, now an uncarved bowlder; here 
used in a tropical sense to mean the head. The Hawaiians, impelled by 
the same vein of humor as ourselves, often spoke of the human head as a 
coconut ( pu-niu ) . 

(c) Kona, here used as a local name for the sea-breeze. 

(d) Koolau-wahine, a wind, stronger, but from the same direction as 
the Kona. 



158 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ke ho'omoe a'e la i ke kehau 
O a'u hale lehua i kai o Puna, 
O a'u hale lehua i kai o Ku-ki'i. 

TRANSLATION 

Kaena's profile fleets through the calm, 

With flanks ablaze in the sunlight — 

A furnace-heat like Kilauea; 

Ke-awa-ula swelters in heat; 

Kohola-lele revives in the breeze, 

That breath from the sea, Kai-a-ulu. 

Fierce glows the sun of Makua; 

How it quivers at Ohiki-lele — 

'Tis the Sun-god's dance o'er the plain, 

A riot of dance at Makaha. 

The sun-tooth is sharp at Kumano; 

Life comes again to Maile ridge, 

When the Sun-god ensheaths his fang. 

The plain Walio is sunburned and scorched; 

Kua-iwa revives with the nightfall; 

Waianae is consoled by the breeze 

Kai-a-ulu and waves its coco fronds ; 

Kane-pu-niu's fearful of sunstroke ;(^) 

A truce, now, to toil and fatigue: 

We plunge in the Lua-lei water 

And feel the kind breeze of Kona, 

The cooling breath of the goddess, 

As it stirs the leaves of ilima. 

The radiant heat scorches the breast 

While I sidle and slip and climb 

Up one steep hill then another; 

Thus gain I at last Moa-ula, 

The summit of Poha-kea. 

There stand I and gaze oversea 

To Hilo, where lie my dewy-cool 

Forest preserves of lehua 

That reach to the sea in Puna — 

My lehuas that enroof Kuki'i. 

According to another account, — less mythical — Hiiaka, on 

(e) The author begs to remark that sunstroke is unknown in all Hawaii. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 159 

her departure from Haena, packed off Wahine-oma'o and Lo- 
hiau in the canoe, while she herself started on afoot. Before 
proceeding on her way she turned herself about and, as was her 
wont, made a farewell address to the precipitous cliffs of Ka- 
lalau and to the deity therein enshrined: 

Ka-lalau, pali a'ala ho'i, e, 
Ke ako ia a'e la e ka wahine ; 
A'ala ka pali i ka laua'e(a) e 

1 Hono-pu, Wai-aloha. 
Aloha oe la, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Your verdant mountain walls, Lalau — 
Where the nymphs pluck harvest of wreaths — 
Fragrant with breath of lau-a'e, 
Fed by love's waters at Hono-pu ; 
My farewell love goes forth to you. 

Hiiaka now left behind her the wild and precipitous region of 
Kalalau and, passing through Miloli'i, came into Mana, a region 
famous for its heat, its sand-hills, and its tantalizing mirage. 
Mana was also the haunt of a swarm of little beings, elfs, 
brownies and what not, to whom Hiiaka courteously offered her 
salutations : 

O Mana, aina a ke Akua,(6) e-e, 

Aina a ke Akua i ka li'u; 

O ka pa'a kolo hele i o, e-e ! 

E ho'i mai ana ka oe(r) i o'u nei, e-e. 

TRANSLATION 

Mana, thou land of the godling host. 
Thou land of that wonder — mirage ; 
Swarming with creatures that creep and crawl ! 

But you're coming to take me hence ! 

(a) Lau-a'e, a fragrant plant that grows in the woods of Kauai. 

(&) Akua. The word akua was used not alone to designate the gods, 
it was also applied to any superhuman or supernatural being. The refer- 
ence here is to the little creatures that swarmed in the land. 

(c) Oe. This last line is evidently addressed to her traveling com- 
panion, Wahine-oma'o, whom she descried in the canoe in the offing. 



160 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

According to this version of the narrative, which is the prefer- 
able one, Hiiaka now took passage in the canoe and from Mana 
the reunited party sailed away for Oahu. By this happy reunion 
the otherwise dissevered narrative is brought into harmony and 
conflicting versions no longer pull away from each other like two 
ill-trained steers. 

The voyage was not without enlivening incident. When the 
canoe had reached a point where the surges began to roll in the 
direction of Oahu Hiiaka saw two monster sharks disporting 
themselves in the waves whom she recognized as relatives on the 
side of her paternal grand-father, their names being Kua and 
Kahole-a-Kane. This was her second encounter with these sea- 
monsters; the first was on her recent voyage to Kauai, an en- 
counter which had threatened serious results, if not disaster, to 
Hiiaka's expedition. As the story goes, when Kua and Kahole 
had become aware that Hiiaka's going was for the purpose of 
bringing Lohiau to the bed of Pele, they were moved to great 
disapproval of her enterprise : "A mere man," said they. "The 
idea of mating him with Pele is atrocious ; and he is a dead man 
at that." 

After taking counsel with the sea-goddess Moana-nui-ka-lehua, 
who had her boudoir in the deep waters of leie-waena, with her 
aid they raised a commotion in the sea and Hiiaka barely escaped 
being swamped by a mighty water-spout. For her part Hiiaka 
was quite ready to overlook this rough play of her old 
kinsfolk and to do the agreeable with them and she accordingly 
addressed them kindly: "How lucky for me is this meeting 
again with you out here in the ocean ! It will enable me to re- 
lieve my hardships by a smack of real comfort." 

The two sea-monsters felt unable to respond to Hiiaka's ad- 
vances in a like spirit with her's. Their consciences plead guilty. 
"Look here," said Kua to his fellow, "this is our grandchild." 

"Yes," his companion replied, "and she will put us to death. 
We'd better hide ourselves, you in your patch of surf, I in mine." 

"That sort of a ruse won't avail us in the least," objected Kua. 

"What then? Where shall we flee for safety?" 

"To the mountains back of Waianae, to be sure," asserted Kua. 

This suggestion meeting with the approval of his companion, 
they hastened to land and, having divested themselves of their 
shark-bodies and resumed human form, they made for the moun- 
tains and hid themselves in the palaa fern. Hiiaka was greatly 
disappointed that these two old people should have so utterly mis- 




THE DESCENT FROM THE CLIFFS 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 161 

conceived her attitude of mind toward them as to rob her of their 
interesting company. She expressed her observations in song: 

A makani Kai-a-ulu lalo o Waianae, 

E wehe aku ana i ka lau o ka niu. 

Ha'i ka nalu o Kua a ala i ka po; 

I hiki aku, i moe aku iuka ka luhi o ke kai : 

Moe no a huH ke alo(a) i ka paia. 

Hiki ka alele a kou ipo 

A koena lau ka ula,(&) e: 

He ula aloha, e ! — 

Makani pahele-hala(c) o Kamaile-huna, 

Ke wahi mai la e naha lalo o Malamalama-iki. 

Ike'a Wai-lua(c?) — ke kino o ka laau,(^) 

Pau pu no me ke kino o ka Lehua(/) wehe'a: 

Wehe'a iho nei loko o ka moe, 

Malamalama oko'a no olalo me he ahi lele la ! 

He'e, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

A cat'spaw ruffles the Waianae sea, 
Lifting the fronds of the coco-palm; 
The waves of Kua rise betime 
And haste to repose neath the clifif, 
To sleep secure with face to the wall. 

(a) Hull Tee alo i ka paia. To sleep with one's face turned to the wall 
was reckoned to Indicate a high degree of confidence in one's safety. 

(&) Ula, a tingling in the ears. Tinnitus aurium, a tingling in the 
ears, or any similar symptom in that organ was regarded as a sure sign 
that some person was making a communication from a distance. This 
superstition, or sentiment, in regard to tinnitus aurium was not peculiar 
to the Polynesian. In Der Trompeter von Saekkingen I find the following: 
Laut das Ohr klingt, als ein Zeichen, 
Dass die Heimath sein gedenket, — 

(c) Pahele-hala, litterally, shaking the hala (pandanus tree). Hala also 
also meant fault or sin. The figure is to be taken to mean a shaking of 
sins, in other words, a casting of them away, a disregarding of them. 

(d) Wai-lua, an abyss in the water. The reference is, of course, to the 
shark-gods. 

(e) Laau, wooden. The reference is to the shark-bodies of the two mon- 
sters which became dead, wooden, when discarded by them on their coming 
out of the ocean and resuming ordinary human form. 

if) Lehua. The full name is Moana-nui-ka-lehua, a goddess (mermaid) 
whose domain was in the abyss of the leie-waena channel. For further 
details see remarks in the text. 



162 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Then comes my herald of peace, with 
Its ear-tingHng(&) message of love, 
Offering bounty and pardon as free 
As the wind that shakes the hala tree. 
Drawn is the bolt and open the door 
Of the secret chamber under the sea. 
Revealing the tricks of the merfolk twain, 
Their bodies dead as the corpse of King Log, 
And with them that of the Mermaid Queen ; 
For a ray has pierced to their resting place, 
As a lightning flash illumines the deep. 
You're caught, my fellows, you're caught ! 

Neither Kua nor Kahole-a-Kane were relieved of their guilty 
fears by Hiiaka's soft words. They continued their flight along 
the same path which was soon afterwards followed by Hiiaka in 
her climb to Poha-kea. The only penalty inflicted by Hiiaka, 
when at last she came up with them and found them penitent, 
cowering in the brush, was their retirement from the ocean: not 
a light stroke, however, being almost the equivalent of taking 
away a mariner's commission, thus separating him from his 
chosen element, his native air. 



CHAPTER XXX 

WHAT HHAKA SAW FROM THE HEIGHT OF 
POHAKEA 

To return now to Hiiaka, who, after a hot climb, is standing 
on the summit of Pohakea; she is gazing with rapt and clear 
vision far away in the direction of her own home-land, her moku 
lehua, in Puna. Her eyes, under the inspiration of the moment, 
disregard the ocean foreground, on whose gently heaving bosom 
might be seen the canoe that holds Lohiau and Wahine-oma'o 
snailing along to its appointed rendezvous. Her mind is busy 
interpreting the unusual signs written in the heavens : a swelling 
mountainous mass of flame-shot clouds, boiling up from some 
hidden source. It spells ruin and desolation — her own forest- 
parks blasted and fire-smitten ; but, saddest and most heart- 
rending of all is the thought that her own Hopoe, the beautiful, 
the accomplished, the generous, the darling of her heart — Hopoe 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 163 

has been swallowed up in the rack. Hopoe, whose accepted em- 
blem and favorite poetical metamorphosis was a tall lehua tree 
in full blossom, is now a scarred rock teetotumed back and forth 
by the tides and waves of the ocean. This thought, however 
much she would put it aside, remained to fester in her heart. 

(We omit at this point a considerable number of mele which 
are ascribed to Hiiaka and declared to have been sung by her 
while occupying this mountain perch at Poha-kea. Application 
to them of the rule that requires conformity to a reasonable 
standard of relevancy to the main purpose of the narrative re- 
sults in their exclusion.) 

The song next given — by some dubbed a pule, because of its 
serious purpose, no doubt — seems to be entitled to admission to 
the narrative : 

Aluna au a Poha-kea, 

Ku au, nana ia Puna : 

Po Puna i ka ua awaawa; 

Pohina Puna i ka ua noenoe; 

Hele ke a i kai o ka La-hiku o a'u lehua, 

a'u lehua i aina(a) ka manu ; 

1 lahui(&) ai a kapu. 

Aia la, ke huki'a(c)la i kai o Nana-huki — 
Hula le^a wale i kai o Nana-huki, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

On the heights of Poha-kea 
I stand and look forth on Puna- 
Puna, pelted with bitter rain. 
Veiled with a downpour black as night ! 
Gone, gone are my forests, lehuas 
Whose bloom once gave the birds nectar ! 
Yet they were insured with a promise ! 
Look, how the fire-fiends flit to and fro ! 
A merry dance for them to the sea, 
Down to the sea at Nana-huki ! 

Hiiaka now pays attention to the doings of the people on the 
canoe in the offing. It is necessary to explain that, on landing 

(a) Aina, to furnish food. 

(&) Lahui, wholly, entirely. 

(c) Huki, to fetch a wide course; to deviate from a direct course. 



164 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

at Mokuleia, she had ordered her two companions to continue 
their voyage and meet her on the other side of Cape Kaena 
whose pointed beak lay close at hand. Lohiau, nothing loath — 
a pretty woman was company enough for him — turned the 
prow of the canoe seaward and resumed his paddle. After 
passing the cape, the ocean calmed, making the work of steering 
much less arduous. Now it was that Lohiau, feeling the warm 
blood of young manhood swell the cockles of his heart and 
finding opportunity at hand, made ardent love to his attractive 
voyage-companion. He pressed nose and lip against her's and 
used every argument to bring her to accept his point of view. 

Wahine-oma'o had a mind of her own and thought not at 
all averse to love and its doings and though very much drawn 
to this lover in particular, she decidedly objected to compromis- 
ing her relations with Hiiaka, but above all, with the dread 
mistress of the Volcano, with whom she must ere long make 
reckoning. Like Pele, Wahine-oma'o permitted the kisses of 
Lohiau for a time, but, knowing that passion grows by what it 
feeds on, she presently cut short his rations and told him to be- 
have himself, enforcing her denial with the unanswerable argu- 
ment that she was well persuaded that they would be seen by 
Hiiaka. It was even so. It was worse. Hiiaka did not con- 
tent herself with throwing temptation before Lohiau, as one 
might place raw meat before a hungry dog; by some witchery 
of psychologic power she stirred him up to do and dare, yet at 
the same time she impelled Wahine-oma'o to accept, but only a 
certain degree, for she carefully set bounds to their conduct. 
And this, be it understood, is but the opening act of a campaign 
in which Hiiaka resolves to avenge herself on Pele. 

When at length Hiiaka centered her attention on the actions 
of the people in the canoe, it needed but a glance to tell her 
that the contagium planted in the soil of Lohiau's mind had 
worked to a charm. Her own description — though in figures 
that seem high-wrought and foreign to our imaginations — had 
better tell the tale: 

Aluna au o Poha-kea, 
Wehe ka ilio(o) i kona kapa; 

(a) Ilio, dog. It is explained that the meaning covered by this figure 
is a storm-cloud and that the stripping off of its garment, wehe....i kona 
kapa, meant its break up into the fleecy white clouds of fair weather. It 
seems that if the head of this cloud-dog pointed to the west it meant rain, 
if to the east, fair weather. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 165 

Hanai alualu(&) i ke kula o Miki-kala,(c) 

I ke kula o Puha-mal6(d) 

Hakaka, kipikipi o Kai-a-ulu(^) me ke kanaka; 

Ua ku'i-ku'i wale a ha'ina(/) na ihu; 

Ua ka i ka u me ka waimaka, 

I ke kula o Lualua-lei,(o-) e ! 

Ku'u lei aloha no olua no, e ! 



TRANSLATION 

I stand ahigh on Poha-kea; 

The dog of storm strips off his robe ; 

A zephyr fans yon heated plain of 

Miki-kala and Puha-malo : — 

Wild strife 'tween the man and the Sea breeze : 

I see noses flattened, broken, 

Fountains become of water and tears ! 

This my garland of love to you two ! 

Hiiaka's voice had the precious quality of carrying her words 
and making them audible to a great distance, when she so willed. 
Her song, therefore, did not, on this occasion, waste itself in the 
wilderness of space. The caution it imposed had its effect. 
Lohiau and Wahine-oma'o calmed their passionate contentions 
and proceeded discreetly on their way. Having passed Kalae- 
loa,(/j) their canoe swung into that inverted arc of Oahu's coast- 
line, in the middle of which glisten, like two parted rows of white 
teeth, the coral bluffs that were the only guard at the mouth of 
Pearl Lochs. 

Before descending from her vantage ground on Pohakea, 
Hiiaka indulged her fancy in a song that was of a different 
strain. Looking towards Hilo, she describes the rivers, swollen 
by heavy rains, rushing impetuously along in bounding torrents, 

(6) Hanai alualu, to fan with a gentle breeze. Alu-alu is another form 
for oluolu. 

(c, d) Miki-kala and Puha-malo, names of places along the coast of 
Oahu in the region under observation. 

(e) Kai-a-ulu, a wind felt on the leeward side of Oahu. 

(f) HaHna na ihu. Ha'i, to break or be broken. The Hawaiian kiss was 
a flattening of nose against nose. The breaking of noses, as here, therefore, 
means excessive kissing. 

ig) Lualua-lei, the name of a plain in this region. 
ih) Barber's Point. 



166 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

while men and women leap into the wild current and are lifted 
on its billows as by the ocean waves: 

A makani Kua-mu(a) lehua ko uka; 

Ke ho'o-wa'a-wa'a a'e la 

E ua i Hana-kahi, (b) e-e : 

Ke ua la, ua mai la Hilo 

A moku kahawai, piha aku la 

Na hale Lehua (c) a ke kai, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Kua-mu pays toll to the forests — 
Cloud-columns that veer and sway, 
Freighted with rain for Hilo, 
The Hilo of Hana-kahi. 
The channels are full to the brim — 
A tide that will flood ocean's caverns, 
The home of the mermaid Lehua. 

After a moment's pause she resumed, though in quite a dif- 
ferent strain: 

Aia no ke 'kua la i uka ; 

Ke hoa la i ka papa a enaena, 

A pulelo(c?) mai ka ohi'a o ka lua; 

Maewa(^) ke po'o, pu'u, newa i ka makani, 

I ka hoonaue ia e ka awaawa, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The god is at work in the hills; 
She has fired the plain oven-hot; 

(a) Kua-mu, said to be the name of a wind, the blowing of which caused 
heavy rain in the woods back of Hilo. 

(&) Hana-kahi, an ancient king of Hilo, frequently mentioned in poetry, 
whose name is used to designate the district. 

(c) Hale Lehua, an evident allusion to the goddess, or mermaid, Moana- 
nui-ka-Lehua. She was a relative of Pele and had her habitation In the 
ocean caverns of le-ie-waena, the channel between Oahu and Kauai. Her 
story belongs to the time when the sun-hero Mawi was performing his won- 
derful exploits. (See account given on p. 

(d) Pulelo, a word descriptive of the tremor of the flames that wrapped 
the trees. 

(e) Maewa, to fork, or branch, said of the flames. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 167 

The forest-fringe of the pit is aflame ; — 
Fire-tongues, fire-globes, that sway in the wind — 
The fierce bitter breath of the Goddess ! 

As the canoe drew near to the appointed rendezvous at Pu'u- 
loa, Hiiaka lifted her voice in a chanting song addressed to 
Lohiau and Wahine-oma'o : 

Ku'u aikane i ke awa lau(c) o Pu'uloa, 

Mai ke kula o Pe'e-kaua,(d) ke noho oe, 

E noho kaua e kui, e lei i ka pua o ke kauno'a,(^) 

I ka pua o ke akuli-kuli,(/) o ka wili-wili ;(g) 

O ka iho'na o Kau-pe'e i Kane-hili,(/^) 

Ua hili(i') au; akahi no ka hili o ka la pomaika'i; 

Aohe mo-ewa'a(y) o ka po, e moe la nei. 

E Lohiau ipo, e Wahine-oma'o, 

Hoe 'a mai ka wa'a i a'e aku au. 

TRANSLATION 

We meet at Ewa's leaf-shaped lagoon, friends ; 

Let us sit, if you will, on this lea 

And bedeck us with wreaths of Kauno'a, 

Of akuli-kuli and wili-wili. 

My soul went astray in this solitude; 

It lost the track for once, in spite of luck, 

(c) Awa lau, leaf -shaped lagoon; a highly appropriate epithet, when ap- 
plied to that system of lochs, channels and estuaries that form the famous 
"Pearl Lochs," as any one acquainted with the place will admit. 

id) Pe'e-kaua, the name applied to a portion of the plain west of Pu'u- 
loa. 

(e) Kau-no'a, a parasitic plant (Cassytha filiformis) consisting of wiry 
stems that cling to other plants by means of small protuberances or 
suckers. 

if) Akuli-kuli, a low, vine-like plant, said to have fleshy leaves and 
minute flowers. 

ig) Wili-wili (Erythrina monosperma), a tree having light, corky wood, 
much used in making the outrigger floats for canoes. Its flowers, of a 
ruddy flame-color, make a splendid decoration. 

ih) Kane-hili, a name applied to a part of the plain west of Pu'u-loa. 
ZVotice the repetition of the word hili in the next verse. Hili means astray, 
or distressed. 

ii) Hili, to go astray, to lose one's way. Assonance by word-repetition 
was a favorite device of Hawaiian poetry. The Hawaiian poet did not use 
rhyme. 

(;■) Moe-wa'a, literally a canoe-dream. To dream of a canoe was an 
omen of ill luck. It was also unlucky to dream of having gained some 
valued possession and then wake to the disappointing reality. 



168 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

As I came down the road to Kau-pe'a. 
No nightmare dream was that which tricked my soul. 
This way, dear friends ; turn the canoe this way ; 
Paddle hither and let me embark. 

Hiiaka again in command, the tiger in Lohiau's nature slunk 
away into its kennel, allowing his energies to spend themselves in 
useful work. Under his vigorous paddle the little craft once 
more moved like a thing of life and long before night found 
itself off the harbor of Kou, the name then applied to what we 
now call Honolulu. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

HHAKA VISITS PELE-ULA AT KOU — THE 
HULA KILU 

At the entrance to this land-locked harbor of Kou a pretty 
sight met their eyes : a moving picture of men and women in the 
various attitudes of lying, kneeling or standing on boards, riding 
the waves that chased each other toward the sandy beach. The 
scene made such an appeal to Hiiaka's imagination that she 
opened her heart in song: 

Ke iho la ka makani 

Halihali pua o Nu'uanu, e-e ; 

Aia i kai na lehua, 

Ke nana la o Hilo ; 

Ke ka ia ho'i ka aukai, e-e ; 

Na lehua i ka wai o Hilo, 

O Hilo ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Down rushes the wind and sweeps along 

The blossoms of Nu'uanu : 

Afloat in the sea are the flowers — 

A scene that takes one to Hilo, 

Whose tide lines them up as a lei ; 

For bloom of lehua to drift 

Far at sea is a Hilo mark. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 169 

When, after this battery of compHment, they came close up to 
where the princess Pele-ula — who, as will be seen, was a power 
in the land — having exchanged still further compHments, 
Hiiaka invited her to come aboard. Pele-ula, very naturally, de- 
clined this kind offer, but with a fine show of hospitality in her 
turn begged that they would honor her by being her guests during 
their stay in the place, assuring them of hospitable entertainment 
and such pleasures as her court could offer. Under her piloting, 
accordingly, they made their way by paddle across the beautiful 
land-locked harbor of Kou and, entering the Nu'uanu stream — 
in those days much broader, sweeter and deeper than now — 
turned into its eastern branch and erelong found themselves at 
the landing from which a path led up to Pele-ula's residence. 
Imagine the fairy scene, if you will ; — a canoe-load of smiling 
nereids piloted by a mermaid princess swimming on ahead, with a 
merry convoy of mermaiden and mermen following in the wake. 

A word in regard to this little land, now lying close to the 
heart of Honolulu itself, which still bears the same name as its 
old-time mistress, Pele-ula. To the kamaaina the sturdy samang 
tree, whose vigorous bole parts the traffic of Vineyard Street just 
before its junction with the highway of Nu'uanu has long been a 
familiar object. This fine tree has a history of its own and can 
claim the respectable age of not less than forty years. The land 
about it has borne the classic name of Pele-ula for a period of 
centuries that hark back to the antiquity of Hawaiian tradition. 
The sightseer of to-day who views the region from the macadam- 
ized roadway, some ten feet above the level of the surrounding 
land, must not judge of its former attractiveness and fitness as a 
place of residence by its present insalubrity — now shut in by 
embankments, overhung by dank and shadowy trees, its once- 
pure stream either diverted for economic purposes or cluttered 
and defiled with the debris of civiHzation. A study of the region, 
on the inner — mauka — border of which lies Pele-ula, Will 
easily convince the observer that within a short geologic period 
the wash of silt and mud from higher levels has filled in and 
converted what must have been at one time a clear salt-water 
basin into the swampy flats that not long ago met the eye. Now, 
of course, this whole alluvial basin has been still further filled in 
and artificially overlaid with a more-or-less solid crust of earth 
and rock to meet the demands of Honolulu's ever expanding 
growth. 

To return to our narrative : to this hamlet of Pele-ula, such as 



170 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

it was in the days of Arcadian sweetness — if not of light — 
Hiiaka and her select company now enter as the honored guests 
of a woman distinguished alike for her beauty, her spiritual 
subtility and insight — she was a makaula — and for her devo- 
tion to pleasure. One of her chief diversions, naturally enough, 
was the hula, especially that form of the dance which was used 
in connection with that risque entertainment, the kilu,(a) 

By evening, when the travelers had washed away the encrust- 
ing salt, warmed and dried their apparel at an outdoor fire, 
filled nature's vacuum at the generous table of their hostess, 
while they were sitting in the short gloaming of the tropics, en- 
joying the delicious content that waits on rest after toil, Pele- 
ula interrupted the silence: 

"The people will have assembled in the hall by this time. Shall 
we move in that direction?" Her glance was first at Hiiaka 
as the leader of the party ; her gaze rested on Lohiau. 

"Let the resident guests be the first. When they are settled in 
their places it will be time enough for us to come in," was the 
reply of Hiiaka. 

"As you please," nodded Pele-ula. 

Wahine-oma'o rose to her feet as Pele-ula was departing. At 
this move Hiiaka said, "When you reach the hall go and take a 
seat by your man friend." She meant Lohiau. Thereupon she 
gave vent to this enigmatical utterance : 

Po Puna(^) i ka uwahi ku'i(&) maka lehua; 
Na wahine kihei-hei(c) paii heihei(J) o uka 



(a) Wa'a-hila is said to have been the name of a favorite hula of Pele- 
ula; so called after a princess who, with her brother Ka-manu-wai, ex- 
celled in the performance of this dance. Her name has been perpetuated in 
an old saying that has come down to us : Ka ua Wa'a-hila o Nu'uanu. This 
is a gentle rain that extends only as far down Nu'uanu valley as to Wyllie 
or Judd street. 

(x) Po Puna. Puna, as the home-center of volcanic action, knew what 
it was to be darkened by a volcanic eruption. Puna here stands for Hiiaka 
and her companion whose home it was. The night that overshadows Puna 
represents allegorically the intriguing designs of Pele-ula. 

(&) Maka lehua. The lehua buds stand for the harmony, kindly affec- 
tion and love that up to this time had existed between Lohiau and the two 
women escorting him. Pele-ula is the smoke that blights the lehua buds. 

(c) Kihei-hei, frequentative form of kihei, to wear. 

id) Pau heihei. The pau heihei was a fringe of vegetable ribbons strung 
together and worn about the loins, thus serving as the conventional shield 
of modesty among the people of the olden time. The modifying expression, 
o uka, implies that the use of this particular form of pau was rather a sign 
of rusticity. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 171 

E noho ana ka papa lohi o Mau-kele,(^) 
Ha'a(/) ho'i ka papa e ; ha'a ho'i ka papa, 
Ke kahuli(^) nei, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Puna's day is turned into night ; 
Smoke blasts the buds of lehua ; 
The nymphs, in fringed woodland paii, 
Sit the glare lava-plates of Mau-kele : 
Unstable, the lava-plates rock, 
They tilt and upset. 

She turns to Lohiau and says, "You had better be going to the 
hall. When you go in take a seat by your friend." This advice 
is puzzling : the friend must have been Wahine-oma'o and it was 
customary for men and women to sit apart. Then she resumed 
her song : 

Mai Puna(/t) au, e-e, mai Puna: 
Ke ha'a la ka lau o ka lima,(^) e-e; 

ke oho o ka niu e loha(y) ana i kai, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

1 come from the land of Puna — 
A partner I in a triple love. 

Ah, look ! his fingers are passion-clutched ! 
Like fronds of the palm, they shall wilt. 

(e) Papa lohi o Mau-kele, glistening lava plates of Mau-kele. Mau-kele 
was a land in Puna. The implication is that these women, Pele-ula, Wai- 
kiki and the rest of them are plotting to steal away the affections of 
Lohiau. 

(f) Ha'a ho'i ka papa, the lava plates rock: that is the plot is a shaky- 
fabrication and will. . . . 

(g) Kahuli, topple over. 

(h) Puna. There is a punning double entendre involved in the use of 
this word here. A puna-lua was one who shared with another the sexual 
favors of a third party. The implication is that Hiiaka and Wahine-oma'o 
stood thus towards Lohiau. See also note (a). 

(i) Lau o ka lima, leaves of the hand. The spasmodic working {ha'a) 
of the fingers was deemed to be a sign of lustful passion. It is here attrib- 
uted to Lohiau. 

(j) Loha, to droop, to be fooled; here to be understood in the latter 
sense of Pele-ula. 



172 Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

As she sauntered on her way to the dance-hall she concluded 
her song : 

Mai Puna au, e, mai Puna au, 

Mai uka au o Wahine-kapu;(^) 

Mai O'olu-ea,(0 i ke ahi(w) a Laka, la. 

Mai Puna au, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

Bethink you, I come from Puna — 
In the power of a triple love, 
Girt with the might of Wahine-kapu : 
Beware the baleful fires of Laka : 
Remember, I come from Puna. 

The inner meaning and intent of this highly wrought figurative 
and allegorical language, which Hiiaka, according to her custom, 
utters at detached intervals in the form of song, does not lie on 
the surface, and is furthermore obscured by an untranslatable 
punning use of the word Puna. 

To explain the motive of this song, Hiiaka perceives that Pele- 
ula and Lohiau, who had once upon a time been lovers, are 
mutually drawn to each other by a rekindHng of the old flame. 
In the case of Pele-ula the motive of ambition to match her own 
spiritual power as a makaula — seer — with that of the young 
woman who comes to her as the plenipotential ambassador of 
Pele is even stronger than the physical passion. In the kilu now 
to be performed she sees her opportunity. 

She will use it for all it is worth, not only that she may taste 
once more the delights offered by this coxcomb, but that she may 
pluck from the hand of this audacious creature of Pele's endow- 
ment a wreath for her own wearing. 

As to Lohiau, that plastic thing, his character, is as clay in 

(fc) Wahine-kapu, one of the female deities of the Pele family who had 
her seat on an eminence at the brink of the caldera of Kilauea which was 
reverenced as a tabu place. 

(I) Mai O'olu-ea. O'olu-ea, as a place-name calls for a preposition in 
mai. O'olu-ea, however, contains within it a verb, olu, to be easy, com- 
fortable, and as a verb olu decides the mai to be an adverb of prohibition. 
In this meaning the caution is addressed to Lohiau. 

(m) Ahi-a-Laka, a land in Puna. The double sense, in which it is here 
used, gives it a reference to the fires of passion. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 173 

the-hands of the potter, under Pele-ula's manipulation. He is all 
for pleasure. Honor, constancy, ordinary prudence, are not in 
his purview. Hiiaka's immediate presence suffices to restrain and 
guide him; in her absence, his passion, a rudderless bark, is the 
sport of every wind that blows. 

Hiiaka, on arriving at the halau, sat by herself. Lohiau, as she 
observed, was sitting with Wahine-oma'o and Waikiki. Pele-ula, 
who was sitting alone on her side of the hall, now showed her 
hand by sending one of her men, named A'ala, to invite Lohiau 
to come over and sit with her. At this Hiiaka spoke up : "I will 
sit by you." 

"So be it, then," answered Pele-ula. At the same time she 
muttered to herself, "But she wasn't invited." 

A'ala, who caught the aside of his mistress, also put in, "It's 
Lohiau whom she invites." 

At this Hiiaka bravely laid down the rule, which was the ac- 
cepted one, that the men and the women should sit on opposite 
sides of the halau ; averring that any other disposition would be 
sure to breed trouble. Pele-ula could not but agree to this and 
accordingly, Wahine-oma'o and Waikiki, leaving their seats by 
Lohiau, came over and sat with Hiiaka and Pele-ula. 

When the presiding officer of the game — the la anoano(a) — 
had called the assembly to order with the well known cry "pu- 
heo-heo" and it came to the placing of the pahu kilu — short 
pyramidal blocks of wood — before each one of the players, who 
sat in two rows facing each other and separated by a considerable 
interval, Hiiaka objected to the way in which they were placed. 
A sharp discussion then arose between Pele-ula and Hiiaka, but 
the younger woman carried the day and won her point. 

Lohiau had a great and well-deserved reputation as a skilful 
champion in the game of kilu. When, therefore, it came his turn 
to hurl the kilu(&) and send it spinning across the mat with an 
aim that would make it strike the pahu, which was its targe, every- 
body looked for great things and it was openly predicted that he 
would win every point. 

Lohiau preluded his play with a song: 



(a) La anoano, literally, quiet day. 

(6) The kilu, which gave name to the sport, was an egg-shaped dish 
made by cutting a coconut or small gourd from end to end and somewhat 
obliquely so that one end was a little higher than the other. 



174 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ke hele la ka au-hula(o) ana o Ka-lalau; 

Ke po'i la ke kai o Milo-li'i ; 

Ka laau(&) ku'i o Makua-iki: 

Lawe i ka haka la, lilo ! 

Makua, keiki i ka poli e, i ka poli. 

I ka poli no ka hoa a hele; 

Kalakala i ke kua ka opeope aloha. 

Auwe ho'i, e-e ! 

TRANSLATION 

I venture the cliffs of Ka-lalau ; 
The wild waves dash at the base — 
The breakers of Milo-li'i — 
Scaling the ladder that climbs Makua. 
The ladder, alas, the ladder is gone! 
The child in my heart has grown a man. 
My heart found room for this travel-mate; 
But now ! — I strip from my back 
That emblem — that burden — of love! 
Alas for emblem and love! 

The "child in the heart that has grown to be a man" is 
Lohiau's old love for Pele-ula, which now wakes up into new 
life at the sight of his old flame. The old love has, however, in 
a sense become a burden. It stands in the way of the new-born 
affection that has sprung up in his heart for Hiiaka. 

It was after the chanting of this mele that Lohiau threw his 
kilu. But, to the consternation of the audience and his own be- 
wilderment, his play was a miss. His aim had been true, his 
hand steady, the whirling kilu had gone straight on its way as 
if sure of the mark, then, to the utter amazement of all experts, 
like the needle of the compass influenced by some hidden magnet, 
it had swerved and gone wild. 

Hiiaka, from the other side of the hall, now took her turn at 
the kilu, with a prelude of song: 

(a) Au-hula-ana. WTien the road along a steep coast is cut off by a 
precipice with the ocean tossing at its base, the traveler will often prefer 
to swim rather than make a wide inland detour. Such a place or such an 
adventure is called an au-hula or au-hula-ana. 

(b) Laau ku'i, literally, spliced sticks; a ladder, or some contrivance 
of the sort to aid the traveler in climbingr a pali. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 175 

A makani pua ia lalo,(a) 

Moe ko'a ka huhu, aia iloko ho'i, e-e. 

Ho'i a ka lili a ka pua o ka wao, 

Noho ilaila ka hihi, ka pa'a 

A ka manawa(&) ho'i e-e 

TRANSLATION 

A gust of wind from the west 
Lays bare the jagged reef: 
Pride makes its lair in the wilds, 
Mid tangle of vine and tree: 
So anger abides in the brain. 

In this song Hiiaka exposes the unworthy plot that was sim- 
mering in Lohiau's mind, whom she typifies by a gust of wind 
blowing from the west, the general direction of Kauai. 

At the first throw the kilu hit the wooden block and then, as 
if not content with its accomplishment, after caroming off, re- 
turned like a bee to its blossom, and this action it repeated until 
it had scored not one but three points. There was the thrill of 
triumph in Hiiaka's tone as she sang again : 

O ku'u manawa na'e ka i hei i ka moe ; 
Ooe na'e ka'u e lawe la ; lilo, 
Lilo oe la e, auwe! 

TRANSLATION 

Aha, my will has snared the bird. 
And you are my captive, yes you : 
Your purpose is foiled, ah, foiled! 

With another prelude of song, Lohiau offered himself for an- 
other trial, kilu in hand: 

A makani pahele — hala kou Maile-htina; 

Ke wahi mai la Malama-iki ; 

Noha Wai-lua,(a) pau ka pua. 

Pau no me ke kino o Kalehua-wehe,(6) e-e. 

(a) Lalo, below, to leeward ; therefore to the west, meaning Lohiau, 
who came from the leeward island of Kauai. 

( & ) Manawa, the f ontanelles ; the heart and affections. 

(a) Wai-lua, a river on Kauai. 

(&) Lehua-wehe, a land in Honolulu; here meaning Pele-ula herself. 



176 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 



TRANSLATION 

The volant breath of the maile 

Has the strength of the fruiter's crook ; 

It opens a trail in the jungle. 

Wai-lua breaks bar ; the small fry are out, 

The complots, too, of Lehua-wehe. 

This attempt was a failure like those that had gone before. 
Lohiau, thereupon, sought relief for his artistic disappointment 
in song: 

Wehe'a iho nei loko o ka moe; 
Malamalama no me he ahi lele la, 
No lalo, e; auwe ho'i au, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Failed, failed in my choicest ambition ! — 
Heralded, like a shooting star ! — 
Fallen, fallen, alas and alas ! 

The game has by this time resolved itself into a contest of wits 
as well as of skill, and the two chief antagonists are — strange 
to relate — Lohiau, the man who was called back from the grave 
and the woman to whom he owes his life, Hiiaka. 

As a prelude to her next play Hiiaka gave this song: 

I uka kaua i Moe-awakea,(a) 
I ka nahele o Ka-li'u, la. 
Auwe ho'i, e-e! 

TRANSLATION 

You shall bed with me in open day 
In the twilight groves of Ka-li'u — 
' Woe is me ! I've uttered it now ! 

Hiiaka's play this time as before was a marvellous show of 

(a) Moe-awaTcea, a hill in Puna; here used for its etymological sig- 
nification — literally, to sleep at noontime — ^which is brought out in the 
translation. 



^ 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 177 

skill. The kilu seemed possessed with an instinct of attraction 
for the block that stood as her target. Like a bee that has found 
a rich honey-flower it returned again and yet again, as if to drain 
the last particle of sweetness. 

Before venturing on his last play, Lohiau discarded the kilu 
he had been using and chose another, thinking thus to change 
his luck. He also changed the style of his song, adopting the 
more sensuous form called ami honua,(b) or ku^u pan: 

Ke lei mai la Ka-ula i ke kai, e ; 
Ka malamalama o Niihau i ka malie. 
A malama ke kaao o kou aloha — 
Kou aloha ho'i, e-e! 

In the first line of this little song, Lohiau, skilfully playing on 
the name Pele-ula, which he turns into Ka-ula, under the figure 
of the ocean tossing about that little island, banters the woman 
for her display of passion. In the second line, using a similar 
word-play, by which he turns his own name into Nii-hau, he 
contrasts the calm of the latter island with the agitation of the 
former. 

TRANSLATION 

Ka-ula's enwreathed by the ocean ; 
Niihau looms clear in the calm: 
And clear is the tide of your love, 
The marvelous tide of your love! 

Pele-ula, in her surprise at the untimeliness of Loahiau's per- 
formance, as well as in her deep concern at his continued failure, 
expostulated with him: "You have but one more play; why 
then do you anticipate by indulging in the ami ? Perhaps if you 
were to address your song to my father, Ka-manu-wai, who is 
a skilled performer — who knows but what you might hit the 
target for once?" 

"Is it likely," Lohiau replied, "is it likely that I shall hit this 

(h) The ami was a vigorous action of the body, often employed by 
dancers. Its chief feature was a rotation of the pelvis in circles of elipses. 
Though sometimes used with amorous mtent, it was not necessarily an 
attempt to portray sexual attitudes. The ami honua, or ami hu'u pau, was 
an exaggerated action of the same descriotion. 



178 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

time, having missed so many shots before?" Thereupon the 
man completed his song: 

O Puna, nahele ulu hala o Kalukalu,(c) 
Wawalu iH a mohole(flf) na'ena'e. 
Pehi ala laua'e(^) o Na-paH,(/) 
Ho'olu'e iho la i ke kai ; 
Kina'i aku la ka eha, e. 

TRANSLATION 

In Puna's famed thickets of hala 
One's body is torn — a network of marks. 
Climbing the walls of Na-pali, the scent 
Of lau-a'e pelts the sense ; then fall 
The petals sweet, to drown their pain 
In the ocean that rages below. 

The kilu spins on its way — it must hit — no, fate is too 
strong for it and turns it from the mark. Lohiau's song is an 
admission of painful discomfiture : 

O ka eha a ke aloha ke lalawe nei, 
Eia la iloko, i ku'u manawa. 
Ka eha e ! auwe ho'i e ! 

TRANSLATION 

The smart of love o'erwhelms me; 
It rages in heart and mind — 
This hurt, ah, this hurt! 

That Lohiau of all men standing on Hawaiian soil should fail 
utterly in a game of kilu was incredible — the man whose art 
availed to hit a grass-top teetering in the breeze, to crush the 

(c) Kalukalu, a place in Puna which supported extensive forests of hala 
(pandanus), a tree whose sword-shaped leaves were edged with fierce 
thorns. In contrast with the smart they produced the poet adduces the 
delights of the wilds in his own island of Kauai, instancing the laua'e a 
fragrant vine that abounds in its mountains. 

id) Mohole, an unusual form for pohole, to be lacerated, but not quite 
so strong. 

(f) Na-pali (the cliffs), a name given to the precipitous side of Kauai, 
where is the wild valley of Ka-lalau, 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 179 

nimble ant speeding on his way, to swat the buzzing fly flitting 
through the air! The audience was dumbfounded. In the 
failure to find excuse sufficient for the occasion, it took refuge 
in silence. 

It only remains for Hiiak^. to pluck the fruit which her skill 
has put within reach of her hand. Her complete victory has 
become a foregone conclusion. Of that there can be no question. 
It is, however, a question of great interest to the spectator how 
she will use her victory, in what terms she will celebrate her 
triumph over the woman and the recreant man who have com- 
bined their wits against hers. The answer to this question is 
to be found in the song with which she preludes her last play: 

Mehameha, kanaka-ole, ka ho'i 

O Pu'u o Moe-awa,(a) e-e! 

Ko ke auhe'e i ka aina kanaka-ole ! 

TRANSLATION 

Aye, lonely, man-empty, indeed; 
Cold the couch and bitter the dreams 
From which has been exiled the man ! 

This ironical thrust is pointed at Pele-ula, who is to see her 
fond hopes of a renewed liaison with her old paramour blasted 
by this plucking of the fruit under her very eyes. 

And yet again, when Hiiaka has made the final shot that ful- 
fills the promise of victory to her, still relentlessly wielding the 
sharp blade of irony, she gives it an extra twist in the wound 
that must have made Pele-ula wince: 

A kulou anei, e uwe ana — 

E uwe no anei, he keiki makua-ole? 

Aohe makua; uwe ho'i e! 

TRANSLATION 

Will the orphan now hang his head 
And weep like a motherless child? 
His mother is dead; let him weep! 

(a) Pu'u o Moe-awa. The full form is Moe-awakea (noonday sleep), 
the name of a hill in Puna. By omitting kea, the word awakea (noon) 
comes to mean bitter, thus imparting to the meaning a cutting irony. Cf. 
note (a), page 176. 



180 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

This two-edged blade cuts both lovers at one stroke — the 
youth in its ironical allusion to tears, the woman in the sly sug- 
gestion of motherhood, she being in fact old enough to hold that 
relation to the young man. 

The forfeit paid by Lohiau after his defeat was a dance, which 
he did with inimitable grace and aplomb to the accompaniment 
of a spirited song, his costume being the customary paii of the 
hula: 

Ku'u hoa i ka ili hau o Mana, 

I kula'i 'na e ka wai o Hina ; 

Hina ke oho o ka hala, 

Ka oka'i pua o ka hinalo i ka wai, e. 

Eia oe; he waiwai nui kau, 

Ka ke aloha, ina i ona 

Ka mana'o mai e: eia oe e. 

TRANSLATION 

Yoke- fellow in toil at Mana, 

I'm swept off my feet in this flood : 

The leaves of the twisted hala. 

The sheath of its perfumy bloom — 

All torn by the rage of the stream : 

You alone remain to me now — 

Your love, if that is yet mine, 

If your heart remains with me still. 

Warming to his work, Lohiau continued: 

Ku'u hoa i ke kawelu oho o Malai-lua, 

I ho'o-holu ia, ho'opi'o ia e ka makani, 

Naue ke oho o ka hala, 

Maewa i ke kai o Po'o-ku e, eia oe ; 

He ku oe na'u, e ke aloha : 

Ina oe mawaho e, eia oe. 

TRANSLATION 

Mate mine through grassy meads, awave. 
Wind-swept and tossed by breeze or storm, 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 181 

Or when the leaves of screwy palm 
Are smitten with brine from the sea, 
Thou idol enshrined in my heart, 
Though apart, thou art empress within. 

Still protesting his love for Hiiaka and deploring his separa- 
tion from her, Lohiau continues: 

A ka lihi au i ka hala o Hanalei;(a) 
Lei au i ka hala (6) o Po'oku e, eia oe. 
He ku oe na'u, e ke aloha ; 
Ina oe maloko e, eia oe. 

TRANSLATION 

I neighbor the land of the wreath, 

My luck, to pine for a palm-crown. 

Oh, wouldst thou but twine the wreath, love. 

Admit to the shrine of thy heart. 

Lohiau, warming to his work, strutted and capered about like 
a capercailzie cock before his mistresses, lashing his passion — 
after the manner of a flagellant — with words of wild hyper- 
bole; but ever approaching nearer and nearer to where sat the 
two women about whom revolved his thoughts. As to which 
one of them it was that he singled out as the center of his orbit 
for the time, that is to be deduced from a study of his song : 

Aloha wale ka nikiniki, 

Ke kanaenae pua o Maile-huna ; 

E a'e ia ana ia Kapa'a, 

I ke kahuli a ke kalukalu : 

Honi u i ke ala o ka hinalo, e : 

Pe wale ia ua — ua, e ! 

E lei au — 

Lei ho'i au i ke kanaka, i ka mea aloha, 

I ka mea i ho'opulapula hou 

O ka moe, e: eia au. 

(o) Hana-lei, literally, to make a wreath; a valley on Kauai. 
(&) Hala. It was ill luck to wear a wreath of the hala drupe. 



182 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

How precious the fillet that binds 
Love's token of bloom with maile ; 
Climbing the wilds above Ka-pa'a, 
To watch the surge of waving grass, 
Make deep inspire of hala bloom 
Beat down by pelting rain, — pour on ! 
I'd wreath my life with human love. 
Plant once again the tender flower 
That blooms in the kingdom of dreams. 
That is my dream, and here am I. 

The audience, moved by Lohiau's ardor, went into riotous ap- 
plause. Hiiaka could not but admire the pathetic artistry of 
Lohiau, yet she remained the mistress of her emotions. Pele-ula, 
in contrast, became visibly more excited at Lohiau's close ap- 
proach. Turning to the younger woman, she said, "do you re- 
spond to this man's appeals ?" 

"What is it you mean ?" quietly asked Hiiaka. 

"Can it be that you are not stirred by his protestations?" Put 
your hand on my bosom," said Pele-ula, "and feel the throbbing 
of my heart." 

Hiiaka convinced herself of the truth of the assertion and, 
in turn, said, "Do you also lay your hand here and judge of my 
temper." 

"You are as cool as a ti leaf," exclaimed Pele-ula, "while I am 
as hot as a bundle of luau." 

This interchange of attentions between the two women did 
not escape Lohiau. It inflamed him to another passage of song: 

Moe e no Wai-alua ke Koolau, 
Ka hikina mai a Ka-lawa-kua ; 
Lele aoa i ka Mikioi ; 
Uwe aloha i ka Pu'u-kolu. 
Aloha Wai-olohia ke Kohola-lele, e 
He lele pa-iki kau, kau ka manao — 
Ka ke aloha kamali'i — 
He lalau, e; eia oe! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 183 

TRANSLATION 

Two rivers that chafe their banks — 
A mad rush to enter the sea — 
By the tempest whipped into foam; 
They roar and bark Hke hounds : 
Two souls that pine with love, — 
A yearning for passion's plunge — 
Their touch child's play, as they kiss : — 
Ah, mine the master's lunge! 

From his very nature Lohiau was not qualified to reckon with 
the supernatural side of Hiiaka. His appeals had been on the 
plain of human passion — such appeals as would have subdued 
and won the heart of an ordinary woman. Still acting under 
these limitations, Lohiau aimed and shot the arrow that emptied 
his quiver of song: 

Haupu, mauna kilohana, 

1 ko'e ia e Hula-ia a oki : 
Oki laula ka uka o Puna, 
Lulumi i ka pua hau o Malu-aka, 
Ho'i kao'o i ka wai olohia ; 
Kinakina'i e eha ka pua o ka hala, la. 
Hala ke aloha, hoomanao iaia i akea, 

I ka'awale ho'i kau oni'na — 
Oni'na mau ho'i, e : eia oe. 

TRANSLATION 

Thou mount of enchantment, Haupu, 
By the dancers greatly beset, — 
The whole face of Puna o'errun, 
Where clusters the bloom of the hau — 
I, back-lame and sore in defeat. 
Shall master the smart of my wrong. 
The love-bird has flown into space, 
Away from this wriggle and squirm. 
You may twist, you may turn, you are here ! 

Lohiau had broken with Pele-ula; his last hope and appeal was 



184 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

to Hiiaka. He stood before her waiting her fateful decision. 
Will she consent to turn the canoe-prow and fly back to Kaua'i 
with him? He had won the woman's heart in her, but not the 
deity that controlled her nature. The chain that bound her to 
the Woman of the Pit was too strong to be broken by any mere 
human appeal. Lohiau had failed in his play with the kilu; he 
now saw that he had also failed in his attempt to play with this 
human heart. The game was up; he sat down. 

When Lohiau had retired in defeat, it became the turn of 
Wahine-oma'o to entertain the company — Wahine-oma'o, faith- 
ful, rustic soul, that she was, whose only acquaintance with this 
fine art was what she had picked up from seeing the performances 
of her mistress and master. Her wits did not desert her and 
were equal to the occasion: best of all, she had the wit to recog- 
nize her own limitations. Instead of pitching her song to some 
far-fetched hyperbole, she travestied the whole performance in 
a wholesome bit of nonsense that drifts down to us across the 
centuries as a most delicious take-off : 

O ku, o ka o Wahine-oma'o, 
Wahine ia Lohiau-ipo! 

TRANSLATION 

The Aim and the flam 
Of the Woman-in-green, 
Handmaid to the man 
Who loveth the Queen. 

If Wahine-oma'o had, of set purpose, planned an ironical take 
off of the hula kilu, or rather of Lohiau's manner of acting, she 
could hardly have bettered her performance. Her dancing was 
a grotesque ambling and mincing from one side of the theater 
to the other. The unaffected good humor of the girl robbed 
the arrow of her wit of all venom while detracting not one whit 
from its effectiveness. 

Towards morning the audience made clamorous demands that 
Hiiaka, the woman whom their suffrage had declared to be the 
most beautiful that had ever stood before them, should present 
herself before them once again. Hiiaka willingly responded to 
this encore : 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 185 

Ku'u kane i ka makani hau alia 
O Maka-huna i Hua-wa, e: 
Wa iho la ; ke wa wale mai la no 
Kaua hilahila moe awa-kea 
Iluna o ka laau. 
Ho'olaau mai ana ke ki'i, 
Kaunu mai ana ia'u ka moe — 
E moe ho'i, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Hot breath from the sea-sand waste — 
Love hid from day in a thicket of hau — 
For shame, my man, such clamor and haste! 
The eye of day is open just now. 
Make love, aperch, a bird in a tree ! 
You clamor for bed in the open: 
To bed with yourself ! — to bed ! 



CHAPTER XXXn 

HHAKA EXTRICATES HER CHARGE FROM THE 
DANGEROUS FASCINATIONS OF THE KILU 

Hiiaka, having — by her marvellous skill — extricated her 
charge from the toils of the enchantress, turned a deaf ear to 
Pele-ula's urgent persuasions to abide yet longer and taste more 
deeply the sweets of her hospitaliay. Her determination arrived 
at, she wasted no time in leave-taking but made all haste to put 
a safe distance between the poor moth and the flame that was 
the focus of his enchantment. Their route lay eastward across 

According to one version of this story, Hiiaka made free use of her powers 
of enchantment in withdrawing from the presence of Pele-ula. At the 
proper psychological moment, with the wreath of victory crowning her 
brow, while Pele-ula was vainly intent on an effort to turn the tide of her 
own defeat and gain the shadow of a recognition as mistress of the game 
of Kilu, Hiiaka, with a significant gesture to her companions, spat upon the 
ground and, her example having been imitated by Wahine-oma'o and Lohiau, 
their physical bodies were at once transported to a distance while their 
places continued to be occupied by unsubstantial forms that had all the 
semblance of reality. 



186 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

the dusty, wind-swept, plain of Kula-o-kahu'a — destined in the 
coming years to be the field of many a daring feat of arms ; — 
then through the wild region of Ka-imu-ki, thickset with 
bowlders — a region at one time chosen by the dwarf Menehune 
as a sort of stronghold where they could safely plant their 
famous ti ovens and be unmolested by the nocturnal depreda- 
tions of the swinish Kama-pua'a. Hiiaka saw nothing or took 
no notice of these little rock-dwellers. Her gaze was fixed upon 
the ocean beyond, whose waves and tides they must stem before 
they reached and passed Moloka'i and Maui, shadowy forms 
that loomed in the horizon between her and her goal. 

Hiiaka, standing on the flank of Leahi and exercising a power 
of vision more wonderful than that granted by the telescope, 
had sight of a wild commotion on her beloved Hawaii. In the 
cloud-films that embroidered the horizon she saw fresh proof 
of her sister's unmindfulness of the most solemn pledges. It 
was not her fashion to smother her emotions with silence : 

Ke ahi maka-pa(a) i ka la, e; 
O-wela kai ho'i o Puna; 
Malamalama kai o Kuki'i la. 
Ku ki'i a ka po i Ha'eha'e, 
Ka ulu ohi'a i Nana-wale. 
A nana aku nei, he mea aha ia? 
A nana aku nei, he mea lilo ia. 

TRANSLATION 

The fire-split rocks bombard the sun ; 
The fires roll on to the Puna sea ; 
There's brightness like day at Kuki'i ; 
Ghosts of night at the eastern gate. 
And gaunt the forms that jag the sky — 
The skeleton woods that loom on high. 
The meaning of this wild vision ? 
The meaning is desolation. 

At Kuliouou, which they reached after passing through Wai- 
alae, Wai-lupe and Niu, they came upon some women who were 

(o) Maka-pa^ an expression used of stones that burst when placed m 
the fire. 



Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 187 

catching small fish and crabs in the pools and shallow water along 
the shore and, to satisfy their hunger or, perhaps, to test their 
disposition, Hiiaka begged the women to grant her a portion of 
their catch to satisfy their need. The answer was a surly re- 
fusal, coupled with the remark that Hiiaka would better do her 
own fishing. As the sister and representative of the proud god 
Pele, Hiiaka could not permit the insult to go unpunished. Her 
reply was the utterance of this fateful incantation : 

He makani holo uha(a) 
Ko Ka-ele-kei a Pau-kua.(&) 
Pau wale ke aho i ka noi ana, 
O ka loa ho'i, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Here's a blast shall posset the blood. 

As the chant of kahuna the back. 

Our patience exhausts with delay ; 

We're famished from the length of the way. 

The magic words operated quickly. As Hiiaka turned to de- 
part, the unfortunate fishing women fainted and died. 

After this outburst of retribution, Hiiaka turned aside to ad- 
dress in words of consolation and compliment two forlorn 
mythical creatures whom she recognized as kindred. They were 
creations of Pele, Ihihi-lau-akea, manifest to us to-day as a 
lifeless cinder-cone, and Nono-ula, as a clear spring of water 
welling out of the mountain. It was a nice point in Hiiaka's 
character that she was always ready, with punctilious etiquette, 
to show courtesy to whom courtesy was due. 

Fortunately for Hiiaka, her lofty perch afforded a wide-em* 
bracing view that included the shadowy forms of Maui and the 
lesser islands that nested with it. Not the smallest pirogue could 
steal away from the strip of rocky beach at her feet without 
her observation. At this moment she caught sight of two sailor- 
men in the act of launching a trim canoe into the troubled waters 

(a) Makani holo-uha. The allusion Is to a cold wind that chills the 
naked legs of the fisher-folk. 

(6) Pau-kua, a place-name, meaning consumed in the back — a clear 
reference to the fact that the kahuna's black art very frequently made its 
fatal ravages by attacking first the back. 



188 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

of the Hanauma cove, and she made haste, accordingly, to come 
to them, on the chance of securing a passage, if so be that they 
were voyaging in the desired direction. Their destination prov- 
ing to be Moloka'i, Hiiaka begged the men to receive herself 
and party as passengers. Nothing loath, they gave their consent. 

"But," said one of them, "your party by itself is quite large 
enough to fill the canoe." 

His companion, with better show of cheer in his speech, spoke 
up and said, "It's but common luck to be swamped in this rough 
channel. To avoid it needs only skill. Even if the craft swamps, 
these people need not drown; we can swim for it, and we shall 
all fare alike. We'll take you with us. Come aboard." Aboard 
they went. 

The voyage to Moloka'i proved uneventful. They landed at 
Iloli, a barren place that offered no provision to stay their hun- 
ger. When Hiiaka, therefore, learned that these same canoe- 
men were bound for the neighboring island of Maui, she wisely 
concluded to continue the voyage with them. 

On landing in Kohala, Hiiaka took the road that led up through 
the thickly wooded wilderness of Mahiki, the region that had been 
the scene, now some months gone, of the most strenuous chapter 
in her warfare to rid Hawaii of the mo'o — that pestilent brood of 
winged and crawling monsters great and small that once infested 
her wilds and that have continued almost to the present day to 
infest the imagination of the Hawaiian people. On coming to the 
eminence called Pu'u O'ioina, — a name signifying a resting place 
— being now in the heart of the damp forest of Moe-awa, they 
found the trail so deep with mire that the two women drew up 
their paii and tucked them about their waists. At sight of this 
action, Lohiau indulged himself in some frivolous jesting remarks 
which called out a sharp rebuke from Hiiaka. 

As they cleared the deep woods, there burst upon them a 
view of the Hamakua coast-wall here and there dotted with 
clumps of puhala and fern, at intervals hung with the white rib- 
bons of waterfalls hastening to join the great ocean. As Hiiaka 
gazed upon the scene, she uttered her thoughts in song : 

(In literature, as in other matters, the missing sheep always 
makes a strong appeal to the imagination. Urged by this motive, 
I have searched high and low for this mele, the utterance of 
Hiiaka under unique conditions; but all my efforts have been 
unavailing. ) 

When they had passed through the lands of Kukia-lau-ania 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 189 

and Maka-hana-loa and were overlooking the town of Hilo, 
Hiiaka was better able to judge of the havoc which the fires of 
Pele had wrought in her Puna domains. The land was deso- 
lated, but, worst of all, the life of her dearest friend Hopoe had 
been sacrificed on the altar of jealousy. In her indignation, 
Hiiaka swore vengeance on her sister Pele. "I have scrupu- 
lously observed the compact solemnly entered into between us, 
and this is the way she repays me for all my labor! Our 
agreement is off: I am free to treat him — as my lover, if I 
so please. But it shall not be here and now. I will wait till 
the right occasion offers, till her own eyes shall witness her 
discomfiture." 

After this outburst, her thoughts fashioned themselves in song : 

Aia la, lele-iwi(o) o Maka-hana-loa! (5) 

Oni ana ka lae Ohi'a,(c) 

Ka lae apane,((i) mauka o ka lae Manienie,(^) 

I uka o Ke-ahi-a-Laka:(/) 

Oni ana ka lae, a me he kanaka la 

Ka leo o ka pohaku i Kilauea. 

Ha'i Kilauea, pau kekahi aoao o ka mahu nui, 

Mahu-nui-akea. 

E li'u mai ana ke ahi a ka pohaku. 

No Puna au, no ka hikina a ka la i Ha'eha'e.(^) 

(a) Lele-iwi, the name of a cape that marked the coast of Puna. The 
word also has a meaning of its own, to express which seems to be the pur- 
pose of its use here. It connotes a grave-yard, a scaffold, one, perhaps, on 
which the body (literally the bones) of a human sacrifice are left exposed. 

(b) Maka-hana-loa, the name of another cape, also on the Hilo-Puna 
coast. 

(c) Lae Ohi'a, literally, ohi'a cape, meaning a forest growth that 
stretched out like a tongue. 

(d) Apane, a species of lehua that has red flowers, much fed upon by 
the birds. (In the original newspaper- text the word was pane, evidently 
a mistake. There are, regretably, many such mistakes in the original text. 

(e) Manienie, smooth, meadow-like, a name given in modern times to 
the Bermuda grass — "fine grass" — said to have been imported by Vancouver, 
now extensively seen in Hawaiian lawns. 

(f) Ke-ahi-a-Laka, literally, the fire of Laka, the name of a land. 

(g) Ha'eha'e, the eastern Sun-gate, applicable to Puna as the eastern- 
most district of Hawaii and of the whole group. In claiming Puna as hers — 
i.e., as her home-land — Hiiaka seems to have set up a claim to be the 
guardian of the Sun's rising, and therefore, by implication of Pele. 



190 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

See the cape that's a funeral pyre ; 
The tongue of ohi'a's grief -smitten. 
Beyond, qt peace, Hes Manie; 
Above rage the fires of Laka. 
The cape is passion-moved ; how human 
The groan of rocks in the fire-pit ! 
That cauldron of vapor and smoke — 
One side-wall has broken away — 
That covers the earth and the sky : 
Out pours a deluge of rock a-flame. 
My home-land is Puna, sworn guard 
At the eastern gate of the Sun. 

Hiiaka now entered the woodlands of Pana-ewa, a region 
greatly celebrated in song, which must have brought home to her 
mind vivid memories of that first sharp encounter with her dragon 
foe. From there on the way led through Ola'a; and when they 
reached Ka-ho'o-ku Hiiaka bade the women, Wahine-oma'o and 
Paii-o-pala'e, go on ahead. 

(A mystery hangs about this woman Paii-o-pala'e which I have 
not been able to clear up. She withdrew from the expedition, 
for reasons of her own, before Hiiaka took canoe for Maui ; yet 
here we find her, without explanation, resuming her old place as 
attendant on the young woman who had been committed to her 
charge. The effort, which has been made, to associate her in 
some mystical fashion with the paii, short skirt, worn by Hiiaka, 
only deepens the mystery, so far as my understanding of the affair 
is concerned.) 

Obedient to the instructions of their mistress, the faithful 
women, Wahine-oma'o and Pau-o-pala'e, presented themselves 
before Pele at the crater of Kilauea. "Where is my sister ? where 
is Hiiaka?" demanded the jealous goddess. No explanation would 
suffice. Pele persisted in regarding them as deserters and, at her 
command, they were put to death. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 191 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
HIIAKA ALONE WITH LOHIAU 

It has come at last, the situation to which the logic of events 
has for many days pointed the finger of a relentless fate. For the 
first time Hiiaka finds herself alone with Lohiau. The history of 
her life during the past two months seems but a prologue to the 
drama, the opening scene of which is about to be enacted in the 
dressing room, as we must call it. For Hiiaka, having gathered a 
lapful of that passion-bloom, the scarlet lehua, and having plaited 
three wreaths, with a smile on her face, hangs two of the wreaths 
about the neck of Lohiau, using the third for her own adornment. 

They are sitting on the sacred terrace of Ka-hoa-lii, at the very 
brink of the caldera, in full view of the whole court, including the 
sisters of Hiiaka who gather with Pele in the Pit. "Draw nearer," 
she says to Lohiau, "that I may tie the knot and make the fillet 
fast about your neck." And while her fingers work with pliant 
art, her lips quiver with emotion in song : 

O Hiiaka ka wahine, 

Ke apo la i ka pua ; 

Ke kui la, ke u6 la i ka manai. 

Eha ka lei, ka apana lehua lei. 

A ka wahine la, ku'u wahine, 

Ku'u wahine o ka ehu makani o lalo. 

Lulumi aku la ka i kai o Hilo-one : 

No Hilo ke aloha — aloha wale ka lei, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

'Twas maid Hiiaka plucked the bloom ; 
This wreath her very hands did weave ; 
Her needle 'twas that pierced each flower ; 
Her's the fillet that bound them in one. 
Four strands of lehua make the lei — 
The wreath bound on by this maid — 
Maid who once basked in the calm down there : 
Her heart harks back to Hilo-one ; 
Wreath and heart are for Hilo-one. 

The wreath is placed, the song is sung, yet Hiiaka's arm still 
clasps Lohiau's neck. Her Hthesome form inclines to him. With 



192 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

a sudden motion, Hiiaka throws her arms about Lohiau and draws 
him to herself. Face to face, lip touches lip, nose presses nose. 

The women of Pele's court, chokefull of curiosity and spilling 
over with suspicion, watchful as a cat of every move, on the instant 
raise their voices in one Mother-Grundy chorus: "Oh, look ! 
Hiiaka kisses Lohiau ! She kisses your lover, Lohiau !" 

The excitement rises to fever heat. Pele is the coolest of the lot. 
At the first outcry — "they kiss" — Pele remarks with seeming in- 
difference, "The nose was made for kissing." (a) (The Hawaiian 
kiss was a flattening of nose against nose). But when Hiiaka 
and Lohiau sink to the earth wrapped in each other's arms, and the 
women of Pele's court raise the cry, "For shame ! they kiss ; they 
embrace!" At this announcement, the face of Pele hardens and 
her voice rings out with the command : "Ply him with fire." 

From Pele's viewpoint, the man, her lover, Lohiau was the sin- 
ner. The role played by the woman, her sister, Hiiaka — the one 
who had, in fact, deliberately planned this offensive exhibition of 
insubordination and rebellion — was either not recognized by Pele 
or passed by as a matter of temporary indifference. Hiiaka's 
justification in motives of revenge found no place in her reasoning. 

When the servants of Pele — among them the sisters of Hiiaka 
— found themselves under the cruel necessity of executing the 
edict, they put on their robes of fire and went forth, but re- 
luctantly. In their hearts they rebelled, and, one and all, they 
agreed that, if, at close view, they found him to be the supremely 
handsome mortal that fame had reported him to be, they would 
use every effort to spare him. On coming to the place, their 
admiration passed all bounds. They could not believe their eyes. 
They had never seen a manly form of such beauty and grace. 
With one voice they exclaimed : 

Mahina ke alo, 

Pali ke kua. 

Ke ku a ke kanaka maikai, 

E ku nei i ke ahu' a Ka-hoa-lii. 

TRANSLATION 

Front, bright as the moon. 
Back, straight as a mountain wall: 
So stands the handsome man, 
This man on thy terrace, Hoa-lii. 

(a) "I hana ia ka ihu i mea honi." 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 193 

Pele's fire-brigade went through the form of obeying their 
orders. They dared not do otherwise. Acting, however, on their 
preconcerted plan, they contented themselves with casting a few 
cinders on the reclining form of Lohiau and, then, shamefaced, 
they ran away — an action that had the appearance of reproof 
rather than of punishment. 

The effect on the mind of Hiiaka, whose insight into the charac- 
ter of Pele was deeper than that of Lohiau, was far different 
from that of mere admonition or reproof. She recognized in the 
falHng cinders a threat of the direst import and at once braced 
herself to the task of averting the coming storm and of disarming 
the thundercloud that was threatening her lover. "Have you not 
some prayer to offer ?" she said to Lohiau. 

''Yes," he answered, and at her request he uttered the following : 

Ua wela Pu'u-lena i ke ahi ; 

Ua wela ka mauna ou, e Kahuna. 

Uwe au, puni 'a i ke awa ; 

Kilohi aku au o ka mauna o ka Lua, 

E haoa mai ana ke a; 

Ka laau e ho'o-laau — 

Ho'o-laau mai ana ke ki'i, 

Ke moe, i o'u nei. 

la loaa ka hala, ka lili, kaua, paio ; 
Paio olua, e. 

TRANSLATION 

Pu'u-lena breathes a furnace blast ; 

Your mount, Kahuna, is a-blaze; 

I choke in its sulphurous reek. 

I see the mountain belching flame — 

A fiery tree to heaven upspringing ; 

Its deadly shade invades my stony couch. 

Is there fault, blame, strife, or reproach ; 
Let the strife be between you two. 

To this proposal of her chivalric companion, who would throw 
upon the woman the whole burden of fault, punishment, and strife, 
Hiiaka made answer in this address to Pele : 



194 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Puka mai ka Wahine mai loko mai o ka Lua, 

Mai loko mai o Muliwai o ka Lena,(ct) 

Mai ka moku(&) po'o a Kane. 

E noho ana o Kane-lau-apua(c) i ke one lau a Kane 

Ninau mai uka, ''Nowai he wa'a?'(J) 



(a) Muliwai o Lena. There is a stream of this name in Waianae, it is 
said. Lena is also said to be the name of a place in Kahiki. The word 
lena^ yellow, strongly suggests the thought of sulphur. 

(&) Moku po'o a Kane J literally, the fissured head of Kane. The first 
land formed by Kane. 

\c) Kane-lau-apua, the same as Kane-apua. One of the numerous 
avatars or characters of Kane. He appeared in Kahiki — Kukulu o Kahiki— 
and gained a reputation as a benevolent deity, whose benign function — 
shared by Kane-milo-hai — ^was to pluck from the jaws of death those who 
lay at the last gasp {mauli-awa) , or whose vital spark was at the last 
flicker (pua-aneane) . He healed the palsied, the helpless and hopeless, 
those who were beyond the reach of human aid. On one occasion he re- 
stored himself to perfect health and soundness by the exercise of his own 
will ; hence his name, Kane-apua. On another occasion he illustrated his 
power by restoring to life, some okuhekuhe which the fisherman had already 
scaled and laid upon the fire. The motive for this act seems to have been 
that this fish was a form in which he sometimes appeared. The story of 
his adventure with Kane-lelei-aka is worthy of mention. At one time while 
standing on a headland that reached out into the ocean like the prow of a 
ship, his eye caught a gleam from something moving swiftly through the 
water. He saw it repeatedly passing and repassing and wondered what it 
was. It was the shadowy form of Kane-lelei-aka, but he knew it not. He 
scanned the surrounding mountains and cliffs, if perchance he might get 
sight of the body, bird, or spirit that produced this reflection. He dis- 
covered nothing. In pursuit of his quest, he started to go to Kukulu-o- 
Kahiki. On the way he met his relative Kane-milo-hai, out in mid ovean. 

"Are you from Kanaloa?" asked Kane-milo-hai. That meant are you 
from Lana'^i, Kanaloa being the name formerly given to that little island. 

"Aye, I am from Kanaloa and in pursuit of a strange shadowy thing that 
flits through the ocean and evades me." 

"You don't seem to recognize that it is only a shadow, a reflection. The 
real body is in the heavens. What you are pursuing is but the other in- 
tangible body, which is represented by the body of Kane-mano. He is 
speeding to reach his home in Ohe-ana" (a cave in the deep sea, in the Kai- 
popolohua-a-Kane ) . 

"How then shall I overtake him?" asked Kane-pua. 

"You will never succeed this way. You are no better off than a kolea 
(plover) that nods, moving its head up and down ikunou). Your only way 
is to return with me and start from the bread-fruit tree of Lei-walo (Ka 
ulu o Lei-walo). You must make your start with a flying leap from the 
topmost branch of that tree. In that way you can come up to him and 
catch him." 

The rest of the story: how he followed the advice griven him by Kane- 
milo-hai and succeeded is too long for insertion here. 

(d) Nowai he wa'a? To speak of a lava flow as a xoa'a, a canoe, is a 
familiar trope in Hawaiian mele. (See U. L. of H., p. 194). The canoe 
in this case is the eruption of fire sent against Lohiau, the hoapaio, against 
whom it is launched, Lohiau and Hiiaka, 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 19S 

No ka hoa-paio o Ai-moku(^) wahine: 

Ninau a'e i kona mau kaikaina; 

A lele e na hoali'i — 

Ka owaka o ka lani, 

Ka uwila nui, maka eha i ka lani. 

Lele mai a hull, popo'i i ka honua ; 

O ke kai uli, o ke kai kea ; 

O ke ala-kai a Pele i hele ai. 

E hele ana e kini(/) maka o ka La o Hu'e-ehu'e, 

E nana ana ia luna o Hualalai ; 

Aloha mai ka makani o Kau. 

Heaha la ka pau(^) o ka wahine? 

He palai, he lau-i, ka pau hoohepa o ka wahine, e Kini, e. 

Ha'aha'a iluna ke kihi(/j) o ka Mahina; 

Pau wale ke aho i ke Akua lehe-oi;(i*) 

Maka'u wale au i ke Akua lehe-ama.(/) 

Eli-eli kapu, eli-eli noa! 
Ua noa ka aina i ka puke(^) iki, i ka puke nui, 

(e) Aimoku wahine. An aimoku is one who eats up the land, a con- 
queror, a literal description of Pele. 

(f) Kini maka o ka la. In the original text from which this is taken 
the form is Kini-maka, offering the presumption that it is intended as a 
proper name. Kini-maka was a malevolent kupua, demigod, against whom, 
It is charged that she was given to scooping out and eating the eyes of 
men and her fellow gods. Her name was then called Walewale-o-Ku. Kane, 
it is said, took her in hand and weaned her from her bad practice; after 
which she was called Kini-maka, Forty-thousand-eyes. The phrase o ka la 
affixed to her name discountenances the idea that she is the one here 
intended. It becomes evident that the whole expression means rather the 
many eyes of the Sun, i. e., the many rays that dart from the Sun ; and this 
is the way I construe it. 

(g) Pau o ka wahine f The question as to the kind of pau, skirt, worn 
by the women — those of Pele's fire-brigade, as I have termed them — is perti- 
nent, from the fact that the answer will throw light on their mood and the 
character of their errand, whether peaceful, warlike, etc. The answer given 
in the texl (line 20 of the translation) is Their skirts were fern and leaf 
of the ti. A pau of fern was said to be hanohano, dignified. Ua kapa ia ka 
palai he palai alii; o ka la-i, ua kapa ia he mea kala the (pau of fern 
was worn by chiefs; the pau of ti leaf was a sign of propitiation.) A 
woman wore a ti leaf during her period of monthly infirmity. The whole 
subject will bear further investigation. 

(h) Kihi o ka Mahina, the horn of the Moon. The manner of fastening 
the pau, knotting or tucking it in at each hip, gave it a crescent shape, with 
an angle at each hip. This seems to have suggested to the poet a com- 
parison with the horns of the young Moon. 

(*) Akua lehe-oi, an undoubted reference to Pele, — the sharp devouring 
edge, lip, of her lava-flow. 

(j) Akua lehe-am.a. This also must refer to Pele — ^her gaping lips. 

(fc) Puke, tlfe archaic form. of pu'e, a hill of potatoes, yams and the like. 



196 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

I ka hakina ai, i ka hakina i'a, — 

I kou hakina ai ia Kuli-pe'e i ka Lua, la. 

Eli-eli, kau mai! 
Ma ka holo uka, ma ka holo kai. 

Eli-eli kapu, eli-eli noa ! 
Ua noa ka aina a ke Akua ! 

TRANSLATION 

The Woman comes forth from the Pit, 

Forth from the river with yellow tide, 

From the fissured head of Kane, 

Kane-apua, the cheater of death. 

Presides o'er his much-thronged sandy plain : 

The mountains re-echo the question, 

"Gainst whom do they launch the canoe?" 

Against her foes, the land-grabber's. 

To her sisters she puts a question, 

Up spring the high-born, the princes — 

What splendor flashes in heaven! 

The fourth eye of heaven, its flaming bolt. 

With swell of wave and break of surf a-land 

Was her flight o'er the blue sea, the gray sea — 

The voyage Pele made from Kahiki. 

From his western gate fly the Sun-darts, 

Their points trained up at Hualalai — 

The wind from Kau breathes a blessing. 

Pray tell me, what skirts wear the women? 

Their skirts are fern and leaf of the ti 

Bound bias about the hips, O Kini ; 

One horn of the sickle moon hangs low ; 

My patience faints at her knife-like lips 

And I fear the Goddess's yawning mouth. 

Deep, deep is the tabu, deep be the peace ! 

The land is fed by each hill, small or big, 

By each scrap of bread (o) and of meat — 

Food that is ravaged by Kuli-pe'e. 

Plant deep the foundations of peace, 

(a) The Hawaiians had no such thing as bread. The Hawaiian word ai, 
in line 2~0 of the original, means vegetable food. The necessities of the 
case seem to justify the use of the word bread in the translation. The 
reader will pardon the anachronism. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 197 

A peace that runs through upland and lowland. 
Deep, deep the tabu, deep be the peace ! 
Peace fall on the land of the Goddess ! 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

PELE'S BRIGADE IS SENT TO THE ATTACK 
OF LOHIAU 

Pele broke forth in great rage when her people slunk back, 
their errand not half accomplished. "Ingrates, I know you. Out 
of pity for that handsome fellow, you have just made a pretense 
and thrown a few cinders at his feet. Go back and finish your 
work. Go!" 

Hiiaka, on witnessing the second charge of the fire-brigade, 
again broke forth in song : 

Hulihia Kilauea, po i ka uahi ; 

Nalowale i ke awa(a) ka uka o ka Lua. 

Moana Heeia — la kapu i ke Akua ! 

Haki palala-hiwa ke alo o ka pohaku ; 

Ai'na makai a'ahu, koe ka oka — 

Koe mauka o ka Lae Ohi'a. 

Haki'na ka hala, apana ka pohaku; 

Kike ka ala ; uwe ka mamane — 

Ka leo o ka laau waimaka nui, 

O ka wai o ia kino a pohaku. 

Kanaka like Kau-huhu ke oko o ke ahi ; 

Ho'onu'u Puna(;ir) i ka mahu o ka Wahine. 

Kaha ka lehua i ka uka o Ka-li'u ; 

Makua ke ahi i ka nahelehele — 

Ke a li'u-la o Apua. 

E ha'a mai ana i ku'u maka 

Ka ponaha lehua mauka o Ka-ho'i-ku ; 

Puni'a i ke awa ka uka o Nahunahu : 

Kina Puna, e poa i ke Akua. 

Ua kaulu-wela ka uka o Oluea: 



(a) Awa. The full expression would probably be ua awa, bitter rain, 
i.e., bad weather. 



198 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ua haohia e ke ahi, ku ka halelo.(^7) 

Moku kahawai, niho'a ka pali; 

Ua umu pa-enaena ke alo o ka pohaku. 

O Ihi-lani,(r) o Ihi-awaawa,((/) 

Hekili ke'eke'e, ka uila pohaku ; 

Puoho, lele i-luna, ka ala kani oleole, 

Kani au-moe, kani ku-wa, kani helele'i ; 

Owe, nakeke i ka lani, nehe i ka honua ; 

Ku'u pali kuhoho holo walawala i-luna, i-lalo ; 

Ka iho'na o ka pali uhi'a e ka noe ; 

Pa'a i ka ohu na kikepa lehua a ka Wahine ; 

Ho'o-maka'u ka uka — he ahi ko ka Lua. 

Ke ho'o-malana a'e la e ua na opua ; 

Ne'ene'e i kai o Papa-lau-ahi. 

Lapalapa ka waha o ke Akua lapu ; 

Hukihuki(^) ka lae ohi'a o Kai-mii, 

E hahai aku ana i-mua, i-hope. 

Hopo aku, hopo mai ; 

Hopo aku au o ka ua liilii noe lehua i ka papa. 

Pua'a-kanu(/) oheohe, me he kanaka oa(^) la i ka La; 
Ke'a ka maha lehua i kai o Ka-pili nei: 

(6) Halelo, rough, jagged like aa. The following quotation is given: 

Ku ke a, ka halelo o Kaupo, 

1 ho'okipa i ka hale o ka lauwili : 

E-lau-wili. He lau-wili ka makani, he ICaua-ula. 

TRANSLATION 

How jagged stand the rocks of Kaupo, 
That once held the house of the shiftless ! 

(c) Ihi-lani, literally, the splendor of heaven; said to be a god of light- 
ning, also the name of a hill. 

(d) IKi-awaawa, said to be the name of a god of lightning, as well as 
the name of a hill. 

(e) Huki-huJci, literally, to pull, to haul with a succession of jerks. The 
action here figured is eminently descriptive of the manner of advance of a 
lava-flow. It is not with the uniform movement of a body of water. It 
shoots out a tongue of molten stuff here and there ; and as this cools, or is 
for cause arrested, a similar process takes place at some other point. 
This movement bears a striking resemblance to the action of a bods'- of 
skirmishers advancing under fire. Its progress is by fits and starts. 

(f) Pua'a-kanu. In spite of the fact that this is claimed by Hawaiians 
to be a place-name, I must see in it an allusion to a swine, devoted to 
sacrifice, connoting Lohiau himself. 

ig) Oa, a poetical contraction for loa, long. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 199 

I pili aku ho'i maua o haele,(^) 

E pi'i i ka uka, e kui, e lei i ka lei, 

Ka lehua o ka ua nahuhu — (nahunahu) 

Nahu'a e ke ahi — uli ke a — 

Mahole ka papa, manihole i ka ai ia e ke Akua : 

Ai kolohe ka Wahine ia Puna, 

Ho'o-pohaku i ka Lae Ohi'a. 

Ka uahi o ka mahu ha'a-lele'a i uka ; 

Ka hala, ka lehua, lu ia i kai. 

Ha'aha'a Puna, ki'eki'e Kilauea: 

Ko Puna kuahiwi mau no ke ahi. 

Puna, aina aloha! 
Aloha-ino Puna, e moe'a nei, 
Ka aina i ka ulu o ka makani ! 

The language of this mele is marked by a certain mannerism 
that can hardly be described as either parallelism or as antithesis, 
though it approaches now one and now the other. It is as if each 
picture could not be accomplished save by representing its group- 
ing from more than one point of view. 

TRANSLATION 

Kilauea breaks forth : smoke blurs the day ; 

A bitter rain blots out one half the Pit ; 

Heeia is whelmed by a tidal wave ; — 

Dread day of the fiery Goddess ! 

The face of the cliff is splintered away ; 

The lowlands are littered with fragments 

Her besom spares other land, not the park. 

The screw-palms are rent, the rock-plates shattered ; 

The bowlders grind, the mamanes groan : 

1 hear the pitiful sob of the trees. 

The tree-gods weep at their change into stone. 
Man, like the roof-pole, strangles in smoke ; 
Puna chokes with the steam of the Woman ; 
How groan the lehuas of Ka-li'u ! 
A quivering flame enwraps Apua. 
Mine eyes are blinded at the sight 
Of the forest-circle of Ho'o-ku ; 



(h) Haele. By a figure of speech — metonymy — the word haele, mean- 
ing to travel, is used to signify a fellow traveler, the companion, of course, 
is Hiiaka herself. 



200 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Nahunahu is swallowed up in the rack. 

Puna, how scarred ! by the Goddess ravaged ! 

Oluea's uplands quiver with heat — 

What ravage ! its rocky strata uptorn ; 

Deep-gullied the canyons, toothed are the cliffs ; 

Like an oven glows the face of the rocks. 

Now Heaven hurls her forked bolts 

And bitter thunder-bombs ; rocks burst and fly. 

A crash of splintered echoes breaks the night. 

Shatters the heavens and rends the earth. 

My towering cliff is shook like a reed ; 

The trail adown the cliff is wreathed in steam ; 

Mist veils the ragged spurs of lehua — 

A reign of terror ! flames leap from the Pit ; 

The storm-clouds spread their wings for rain ; 

They rush in column over the plain. 

The mouth of the demon vomits flame — 

A besom-stroke to wooded Kai-mu. 

Destruction follows before and behind; 

What terror smites a- far and a-near ! 

A brooding horror wraps my soul 

As the fine rain covers the plain. 

A spectacle this for the eye of Day ! 

An offering 's laid — a pig ? a man ! 

Deem'st it a crime to snuggle close in travel? 

That we gathered flowers in the woods? 

That we strung them and plaited wreaths ? 

That we hung them about our necks ? — 

Red blossoms that sting us like fire — 

A fire that burns with a devilish flame, 

Till the blistered skin hangs in rags : 

And this — is the work of the God ! 

The faithless Woman! Puna sacked! 

The Park of Lehua all turned to rock ! 

The column of rock moves ever on ; 

Lehuas and palms melt away. 

As the fire sweeps down to the sea. 

For Puna's below and Pele above, 

And Puna's mountain is ever aflame. 

Oh Puna, land close to my heart! 

Land ever fore-front to the storm! 

I weep for thy sorrowful plight ! 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 201 

"Cowed, and by a boy!" said Pele as her servants, with shame 
in their faces, slunk away from their unfinished task. "This is 
no job for women," she continued. "These girls can't stand up 
before a man — not if he has a smooth face and a shapely leg." 

As she spoke the fire-lake in Hale-ma'u-ma'u took on a rud- 
dier hue, lifted in its cauldron and began to boil furiously, spout- 
ing up a score of red fountains. 

"Men, gods, take these fires and pour them upon the man," 
said Pele, addressing Lono-makua, Ku-pulupulu, Ku-moku-halii, 
Ku-ala-na-wao, Kupa-ai-ke'e, Ka-poha-kau, Ka-moho-alii, Kane- 
milo-hai and many others. 

The gods well knew on what perilous ground they stood, with 
whom they had to deal, the fierceness of Pele's wrath when it 
w^as stirred; yet, in their hatred of a great wrong, they moved 
with one purpose to push back the fires that were threatening 
Lohiau. With their immortal hands they flung away the embers 
and masses of flame until the heavens were filled with meteor- 
fragments. 

Pele's wrath rose to a mighty heat at this act of mutiny and 
disloyalty and she cursed the whole assembly. "Go," said she, 
"back to Huli-nu'u whence you came. Let the land on which 
you stand remain barren and yield no harvest nor any food for 
mortal or for immortal." 

Now Pele was one of the chief gods on earth. The land was 
hers. Did she not make it? Her authority extended also to 
heaven. Did not her flames mount to the zenith? All the gods, 
even the great gods Ku, Kane, Kanaloa and Lono, depended on 
her for certain things. When she voyaged from Kahiki to the 
new land of Hawaii they were constrained to follow her. Not 
because of any command she laid upon them did they do this, 
but because such was their inclination. Where Pele was there 
was food, wealth, the things they had need of. They followed 
as a dog tags after its master. 

The threat made by Pele was, then, no idle breath. It was a 
thing of terrible moment — to be stripped of their fat offices and 
banished to a far-off barren land, a terrible sentence. Some of 
the gods gave in at once and made their peace with the terrible 
goddess. Of those who stood firm in their opposition were Ku- 
moku-hali'i, Ku pulu-pulu, Ku-ala-na-wao, Kupa-ai-ke'e and Ku- 
mauna.(.r) Condemned to banishment, they were indeed in a 

(x) See note at the end of the chapter. 



202 Pele and Hiiaka — ^A Myth 

sorry plight. They found themselves on the instant deprived of 
their jobs and of their power. Food they had not, nor the means 
of obtaining it; these were in the possession of Kane and Kana- 
loa. The ocean was not free to them; it was controlled by Ka- 
moho-alii. In their extremity they became vagabonds and took 
to the art of canoe-making. Thus were they enabled to fly to 
other lands. 

New dispositions having been made and fresh stratagems set 
on foot, Pele turned loose another deluge of fire, Lono-makua 
consenting to manage the operation. The fire burst into view at 
Keaau, from which place it backed up into the region of Ola'a 
and there divided into two streams, one of which continued on the 
Hilo side, while the other followed a course farther towards 
Kau. Lohiau, thus surrounded, would find himself obliged to 
face Pele's wrath without the possibility of retreat. 

Hiiaka, not fearing for herself but seeing the danger in which 
her lover was placed, bade him pray ; and this was the prayer he 
offered : 

Popo'i, haki kalko'o ka lua ; 

Haki ku, Haki kakala, ka ino, 

Popo'i aku i o'ii o lehua, 

I Kani-a-hiku,(a) wahine(&) ai lehua, 

A ka unu(c) kupukupu, a eha ka pohaku 

I ka uwalu a ke ahi, 

I ke kaunu a ka Pu*u-lena:((/) 

Huli ka moku, nakeke ka aina ; 



(a) Kani-a-hikUj a place-name — that of a village in the remote valley 
of Wai-manu — here used, apparently, for its meaning. To analyze its 
meaning, Kaniz=z a sound, a voice, probably a bird-song; HiTcu, a celebrated 
kupua, the mother of the famous mythical hero Mawi. It is said that when 
the wind, locally known as the Kapae, but more commonly named the 
Ho'olua — the same as our trade- wind — blew gently from the ocean, the 
listening ears of Kani-a-hiku heard, in the distance, the sound of hula 
drums and other rude instruments mingling with the voices of men chanting 
the songs of the hula. This seems to be the kani referred to. 

(&) Wahine ai lehua, Pele. Who else would it be? 

(c) Vnu kupukupu (also written, it is said, haunu kupukupu), a hum- 
mock or natural rock-pile, such as would be selected by fishermen, with 
the addition, perhaps, of a few stones, as an altar on which to lay their 
offering and before which to utter their prayers. Kupukupu indicates the 
efHcacy of such an altar as a luck-bringer. 

(d) Pu'u-lena, a wind felt at Kilauea that blew from Puna. The word 
lena, yellow, suggests the sulphurous fumes that must have added to it their 
taint at such time as the wind passed over the volcanic pit. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 203 

Kuhala-kai,(^) kuhuluku(/) ka mauna; 

Pehu ka leo i Pu'uku-akahi;(^) 

Hano ka leo i Pu'uku-alua;(/^) 

Aheahe ana i Mauna Kua-loi(i) — 

I kauhale a ke Akua. 

I ke ahu a Ka-hoa-lii.(/) 

Kaha ka leo o ka ohi'a ; 

Uwe ka leo o ke kai ; 

Huli ke alo o Papa-lau-ahi. 

Kai ho'onaue hala ko Keaau; 

Kai lu lehua ko Panaewa; 

Ke popo'i a'e la i ke ahu a Lono, e. 

E lono ana no anei ? He ho'okuli ; 

He kuli ia nei, he lono ole. 

TRANSLATION 

A storm and wild surf in the Pit, 
The fire- waves dashing and breaking ; 
Spume splashes the buds of lehua — 
The bird-choir — O consumer of trees, 
O'erthrowing the fishermen's altar ; 
The rocks melt away in thy flame; 
Fierce rages the Pu'u-lena; 
The island quakes with thy tremor; 
A flood of rain on the lowland, 
A wintry chill on the highland. 
A boom, as of thunder, from this cliff ; 
A faint distant moaning from that cliff ; 
A whispered sigh from yonder hill, — 
Home of the gods, inviolate, 

(e) Ku-hala-kai, a plentiful fall of rain. 

if) Ku-hulu-ku, a chilling of the atmosphere. 

ig) Pu'uku-ahahi, ih) Pu'uku-alua, names applied to hills on one or 
the other side of the fire-pit, whence seem to come those sonorous puffing 
oi* blowing sounds that accompany the surging of the fires. 

(t) Kua-loi. This is probably shortened from the full form Kua-loiloi, 
The reference is to a law, or custom, which forbade any one to approach 
Pele from behind, or to stand behind her. He kua loiloi ko Pele, the mean- 
ing of which is, Pele has a fastidious back. 

(i) Ka-hoa-lii, literally, companion of kings; the shark-god, a relation 
of Pele, who occupied a section of the plateau on the northwestern side of 
the caldera, a place so sacred that the smoke and flames of the volcano 
were not permitted to trespass there. 



204 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Shrine of the God Hoalii. 

Now groans the soul of the tree a-flame ; 

Now moans the heart of the restless sea. 

Uptorn are the ancient fire-plates. 

The Kea-au sea uproots the palms ; 

Pana-ewa's sea scatters the bloom; 

It beats at the altar of Lono. 

Does she lend her heart to my cry? 

Deaf — her ears are deaf to my prayer. 

Let us picture to ourselves the scene of the story that now has 
the stage — a waterless, wind-swept, plain of volcanic slag and 
sand, sparsely clad with a hardy growth whose foliage betrays 
the influence of an environment that is at times almost Alpine 
in its austerity. Above the horizon-line swell the broad-based 
shapes of Mauna-kea, Mauna-loa and Hualalai. In the immedi- 
ate foreground, overlooking the caldera — where are Pele's 
headquarters — we see two figures, standing, crouching, or re- 
clining, the lovers whose stolen bliss has furnished Pele with the 
pretext for her fiery discipline. Measured by the forces in op- 
position to them, their human forms shrink into insignificance. 
Measured by the boldness of their words and actions, one has 
to admit the power of the human will to meet the hardest shocks 
of fortune. Listen to the swelling words of Lohiau as Pele's 
encircling fires draw nearer : 

Hulihia ka mauna, wela i ke ahi; 

Wela nopu i ka uka o Kui-hana-lei ; 

Ke a pohaku ; pu'u lele mai i uka o Ke-ka-ko4 — 

Ke-ka-ko'i ka ho'okela mai ka Lua. 

O ka maiau(a) pololei kani le'ale'a; 

O ka hinihini kani kua mauna ; 

O ka mapu leo nui, kani kohakoha ; 

O kanaka loloa(i') o ka mauna, 

O Ku-pulupulu i ka nahele ; 

O na 'kua mai ka wao kele; 



(a) Maiau pololei, land shells found on trees, generally called pupu- 
kanloi. 

(&) Kanaka loloa, Ku-pulupulu, one of the gods of the canoe-makers; 
here spoken of as a tall man in contradistinction, perhaps, to the dwarfish 
Kini-akua, who were his followers. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 205 

O Kuli-pe'e-nui(c) ai-ahua; 

O Kike alawa o Pi'i-kea;(rf) 

O ka uahi Pohina i uka ; 

O ka uahi mapu-kea i kai ; 

O ka uahi noe lehua, e ; 

O ke awa nui, i ka mauna ; 

O ke po'o o ke ahi, i ka nahele ; 

O ka ai'na a Pele ma, i uka ; 

Ua ku ke oka, aia i kai. 

Pau a'e la ka maha laau — 

Ka maha ohi'a loloa o Kali'u, 

A ka luna i Pohaku-okapu. 

Kapu mai la Puna, ua kulepe i ke ahi ; 

Ua puni haiki Kilauea. 

Ua ha ka lama i ka luna i Moku-aweoweo ; 

Ua ha ka uka i Ke-ahi-a-Laka ; 

Ai'na a'e la o Moe-awakea i Ku-ka-la-ula, 

A ka luna, i Pohaku-holo-na'e. 

Ku au, kilohi, nana ilaila e maliu mai : 

ku'u ike wale aku ia Maukele, 

1 ka papa lohi o Apua — 

He la lili'u, e nopu, e wela ka wawae. 

Pau ke a, kahuli ha'a ka pahoehoe, 

A pau na niu o kula i Kapoho. 

Holo ke ahi mahao'o(;ir) o Kua-uli ; 

Pau Oma'o-lala i ke ahi : 

I hi'a no a a pulupulu i ka lau laau. 

Kuni'a ka lani, haule ka ua loku ; 

Ka'a mai ka pouli, wili ka puahiohio ; 

Ka ua koko, ke owe la i ka lani. 

Eia Pele mai ka Mauna, mai ka luna i Kilauea, 

Mai O'oluea, mai Papa-lau-ahi a hiki Malama. 

Mahina ka uka o Ka-li'u; 

Enaena Puna i ka ai'na e ke 'Kua wahine. 

(c) KuU-pe'e-nui, a deity, or an idealization, of a lava flow. The feature 
that seems to be emphasized is the stumbling, crawling, motion, which as 
seen in a flow, may be compared to the awkward ataxic, movement of one 
whose knees are dislocated and leg-bones broken. 

(d) PVi-kea, the god of the roaches, who is described as given to making 
certain tapping motions with his head which, I believe, are practiced by the 
roach at the present time. 

(a?) Mahao'o, an epithet applied to a dog that shows a patch of yellow 
hairs on each side of his face. It has somewhat the force of our expression, 
breathing out flames. 



206 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Kahuli Kilauea me he ama(^) wa'a la; 

Pouli, kikaha ke Akua o ka Po; 

Liolio i Wawau ke Akua o ka uka ; 

Niho'a ka pali, kala-lua i uka ; 

Koea a mania, kikaha koa'e ; 

Lele pauma ka hulu maewaewa. 

A'ea'e na akua i ka uka; 

Noho Pele i ke ahiii ; 

Kani-ke ilalo o ka Lua. 

Kahuli Kilauea, lana me he wa'a(/) la; 

Kuni'a a'e la Puna, mo'a wela ke one — 

Mo'a wela paha Puna, e! 

Wela i ke ahi au, a ka Wahine. 

TRANSLATION 

The Mount is convulsed ; the surging fire 

Sweeps o'er the height of Kui-hana-lei ; 

The rocks ablaze; the hillocks explode 

Far out by Ax-quarry, aye, and beyond. 

Where gleefully chirped the pololei. 

And the grasshopper trilled on the mountain 

A resonant intermittent cry. 

Now comes the tall man of the mount, 

Ku-pulupulu, the Lord of the Woods. 

In his train swarm the pigmy gods of the wilds, 

The knock-kneed monster Kuli-pe'e — 

That subterraneous eater of towns — 

And watchful Pi'i-kea, the Roach god. 

A blinding smoke blurs the hinter-land ; 

A milk-white cloud obscures the lowland, 

Enshrouding the groves of lehua. 

The smoke-rack bulks huge in the upland ; — 

The fire has its head in the Mount, 

And thence the Pele gang start on a raid. 

The ash of their ravage reaches the sea : 

(e) Ama wa'a. The commotion in Kilauea is here compared to the up- 
setting of the canoe's outrigger (ama). When an outriggered canoe cap- 
sizes the outrigger, ama, as a rule, lifts out of the water. 

(f) Wa'a. The reference seems to be to the masses of solid lava that, 
not infrequently may be seen to break off from the wall of the fire-pit and 
float away on the surface of the molten lake, even as an iceberg floats In 
the ocean. 



Pele and HiiAKA — A Myth 207 

She's made a fell sweep of forest and grove 

Clean down to Pohaku-o-kapu. 

Now, tabu is Puna, forbidden to man : 

The fire-tongues dart and hedge it about. 

A torch buds out from Moku-aweo, 

To answer the beacon flung by Laka. 

Now she's eaten her way from sleepy noon 

Till when the windy mountain ridge 

Buds with the rosy petals of dawn. 

Here stand I to wait her relenting: 

I see naught but desolate Puna 

And the quivering plain of Apua : 

All about is flame — the rock-plain rent ; 

The coco-palms that tufted the plain 

Are gone, all gone, clean down to Ka-poho. 

On rushes the dragon with flaming mouth, 

Eating its way to Oma'o-lala. 

For tinder it has the hair of the fern. 

A ghastly rain blots out the sky ; 

The sooty birds of storm whirl through the vault ; 

Heaven groans, adrip, as with dragon-blood. 

Here Pele comes from her fortress, her Mount, 

Deserting her resting place, her hearth — 

A wild raid down to Malama. 

KaH'u's highlands shine like the moon; 

All Puna glows at the Goddess' coming. 

The crater's upset ; the ama flies up ; 

The God of night plods about in the dark ; 

The Upland God makes a dash for Vavau. 

The pah are notched like teeth, dissevered, 

Their front clean shaven, where sailed the bosen, — 

White breast of down — on outstretched wings. 

The gods ascend to the highlands ; 

The goddess Pele tears in a frenzy ; 

She raves and beats about in the Pit : 

Its crumbled walls float like boats in the gulf : 

An ash-heap is Puna, melted its sand — 

Crisp-done by thy fire, Thine, O Woman ! 

When Hiiaka recognized the desperate strait of her friend 
and lover she urged him to betake himself again to prayer. 



208 Pele and Hiiaka^ — A Myth 

'Trayer may serve in time of health; it's of no avail in the 
day of death," was his answer. 

It was not now a band of women with firebrands, but a phalanx 
of fire that closed in upon Lohiau. The whole land seemed to 
him to be a-flame. The pictures that flit through his disturbed 
mind are hinted at in the song he utters. The pangs of disso- 
lution seem to have stirred his deeper nature and to have given 
him a thoughtfulness and power of expression that were lacking 
in the heyday of his lifetime. Hiiaka called on him for prayer 
and this was his response: 

Pau Puna, ua koele ka papa ; 

Ua noe ke kuahiwi, ka mauna o ka Lua ; 

Ua awa mai ka luna o Uwe-kahuna — 

Ka ohu kolo mai i uka, 

Ka ohu kolo mai i kai. 

Ke aa la Puna i ka uka o Na'ena'e ;(a) 

O ka lama kau oni'oni'o,(&) 

na wahine i ke anaina, 

1 ka piha a ka naoa(c) o mua nei. 
Oia ho'i ke kukulu(fl?) a mua; 
Oia ho'i ke kukulu awa ; 

O kai awa i ka haki pali, 
O kai a Pele i popo'i i Kahiki — 
Popo'i i ke alo o Kilauea ; 
O kai a Ka-hulu-manu:(^) 
Opiopi(/) kai a ka Makali'i ; 
Ku'uku'u kai a ka pohaku, 

(a) Na'ena'e, said of an object that looks small from a distance. The 
use of the particle emphatic o, placed before this word, implies that it per- 
forms the office of a proper name, here a place-name. Such a use of the 
particle emphatic before a noun not a proper name indicates that the word 
is used as an abstract term. 

(&) Lama kau oni'oni'o. When two strings of kukui nuts are bound to- 
gether to form one torch, the light given by it is said to be of varying colors. 
The word oni'oni'o alludes to this fact. 

id) Kukulu a awa, said of those in the rear of the company that came 
against Lohiau. I cannot learn that this is a military term. 

(e) Kai-a-ka-hulu-manu, Mterally, the sea of the bird feathers. Some 
claim this as being the same as the Kai-a-ka-hinali'i ; others, and I think 
rightly, claim that it was a distinct flood that occurred at a later period 
and that destroyed all birds and flying things. 

(f) Opiopi. The waves of the sea in the season of Makali'i are com- 
pared to the wrinkles in a mat, the contrast with those of the Kai-a-ka- 
hulu-manu, and the kai a ka pohaku. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 209 

Ke ahi a ka jioho(^) uka, 
Kukuni i ke kua(/j) o ka makani. 
Wela ka ulu(i) o ka La i Puna, e; 
Kinia Puna i ka ai'na e ke Akua, e. 
He akua(y) ke hoa, e; 
Ke kuhi la iaia he kanaka — 
He akua ke hoa, e! 

TRANSLATION 

Puna is ravaged, its levels fire-baked; 

Fog blots out the forest-heights of the Pit ; 

Uwe-kahuna's plain is bitter cold — 

A mist that creeps up from the sea, 

A mist that creeps down from the mount ; 

Puna's dim distant hills are burning — 

A glancing of torches — rainbow colors — 

The whole assembly of women. 

In pity and love they stand before us ; 

They form the first line of battle 

And they make up the second line. 

The raging waves engulf the steep coast — 

The sea Pele turmoiled at Kahiki, 

That surged at the base of Kilauea — 

The bird-killing flood Ka-hulu-manu. 

Makali'i's waves were like folds in a mat ; 

A smiting of rock against rock 

Is the awful surge of the Pele folk. 

The wind-blast enflames their dry tinder. 

The face of the Sun is hot in Puna. 

I companioned, it seems, with a god ; 

I had thought her to be very woman. 

Lo and behold, she's a devil ! 



(flr) NoTio, a seat, or to sit. Here used for the people there living. 

ih) Kua o Tea makani (literally, at the back of the wind). Koolau, the 
windward side of an island, was its kua, back. The whole line contains an 
ingenious reference to the manner of fire-lighting. V^hen the smouldering 
spark from the fire-sticks has been received on a bunch of dry grass, it is 
waved to and fro to make it ignite. To the old-fashioned Hawaiian familiar 
with this manner of flre-making this figure is full of meaning. 

(i) Ulu o ka La, the figure of the Sun as it touched the horizon, or its 
glare. 

ij) Akua, literally, a god. This is a generic term and includes beings 
that we would call heroes, as well as devils and demons. 



210 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Apropos of the meaning of na'enae I will quote the words of 
a Hawaiian song by way of illustration : 

Makalii lua ka La ia Ka-wai-hoa,(a) 
Anoano i ka luna o Hoaka-lei \{b) 
Lei manu i ka hana a ke kiii;(c) 
Lull ke po'Oj eha i ka La o Maka-lii, 
Hoiloli lua i na ulu hua i ka hapapa. 

TRANSLATION 

Wondrous small looks the Sun o'er Waihoa, 
How lonesome above Hoaka-lei ! 
Birds crown the hill to escape from the Kiii ; 
Men turn the head from the Sun's winter heat 
And scorn the loaves of the bread-fruit tree. 

In answer to these words of Lohiau Pele muttered gruffly, 
"God! Did you take me to be a human being? That's what is 
the matter with you, and your clatter is merely a wail at the 
prospect of death." 

Under the torture of the encircling fires Lohiau again babbles 
forth an utterance in which the hallucinations of delirium seem 
to be floating before him : 

Wela ka hoku, ka Malama; 

Ua wela Makah'i, Kaelo ia Ka-ulua;(J) 

Kai ehu ka moku, papapa ka aina; 

Ha'aha'a(^) ka lani ; kaiko'o ka Mauna, 

Ha ka moana ; popo'i Kilauea. 

Ale noho ana Papa-lau-ahi ; 

O mai Pele i ona kino — 

Hekikili ka ua mai ka lani ; 

Nei ke ola'i ; ha ka pohakahi a ka Ikuwa ; 

(a) Ka-wai-hoa, the southern point of Niihau. 
(&) Hoaka-lei, a hill on Niihau. 

(c) Kiu, the name of a wind. 

(d) Makalii, Kaelo and Ka-ulua are cold months. Lohiau found them 
hot enough. 

(e) Ha'aha'a, literally, hanging low. I am reminded of an old song 
uttered, it is said, by a hero from the top of Kauwiki hill, in Hana, Maui : 
"Aina ua, lani ha'aha'a." Land of rain, where the heavens hang (ever) 
low. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 211 

Ku mai Puna ki'eki'e ; 

Ha'aha'a ka ulu a ka opua, 

Pua ehu mai la uka o Ke-ahi-a-Laka ; 

Pau mahana i kahi Wai-welawela(c) o ka Lua, e ; 

Iki'ki i ka uwahi lehua ; 

Paku'i ka uwahi Kanaka. 

Pua'i hanu, ea ole i ke po'i a ke ahi. 

E Hiiaka e, i wai maka e uwe mai ! 

TRANSLATION 

The stars are on fire, and the moon ; 

Cold winter is turned to hot summer ; 

The island is girdled with storm; 

The land is scoured and swept barren ; 

The heavens sag low — high surf in the Pit — 

There's toss of a stormy ocean, 

Wild surging in Kilauea; 

Fire-billows cover the rocky plain. 

For Pele erupts her very self. 

A flood of rain follows lightning-bolt; 

Earth quakes with groaning and tossing, 

Answered with shouts from the Echo god. 

Once Puna was lifted to heaven ; 

Now the cloud of dark omen hangs low. 

White bellies the cloud over Laka's hearth ; 

Wai-wela-wela supplies a warm skirt. 

I choke in this smoke of lehua — 

How pungent the smell of burnt man ! 

I strangle, my breath is cut off — 

Ugh ! what a stifling blanket of fire ! 

Your tears, Hiiaka, vour tears ! 



(c) Wai-wela-wela, a hot lake in lower Puna, 
(a?) Note on Ku-mauna. See page 201. 

(d) Ku-mauna, a rain-god of great local fame and power; now repre- 
sented by a monolithic bowlder about thirty feet high, partly overgrown with 
ferns and moss, situated in the lower edge of the forest-belt, that lies to 
the south and Kau of Mauna-loa, deserves more than passing mention. The 
region in which this rock is situated is declared by vulcanologists to have 
been one vast caldera and must have been the scene of tremendous dis- 
turbances. 

Up to the present time the Hawaiians have continued to hold Ku-mauna 
In great reverence mingled with fear. The following modern instance is 



212 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 



not only a true story, and interesting, but also furnishes an illustration 
of the attitude of mind of the Hawaiian people generally, — or many of 
them — towards their old gods. 

During a period of severe drought in the district of Kau, Hawaii, a gentle- 
man named S , while hunting in the neighborhood of the rock that 

bears the name Ku-mauna, took occasion to go out of his way and visit 
the rock. Standing before the rocky mass and calling it by name, he used 
towards it insulting and taunting epithets, professing to hold it responsible 
for the drought that was distressing the land. He concluded his tirade 
by discharging his rifle point blank against the face of the rock, resulting in 
the detachment of a considerable fragment. 

The vaqueros in the employ of Mr. S. , who were assisting in the 

hunt, horrified at the sacreligious act, at once put spurs to their horses and 
made off, predicting the direst consequences from the rash act of Mr. 
S . 

Now for the denouement : Within about ten days of this occurrence, 

the valley, on one side of which Mr. S had his residence, was visited 

by a violent rain-storm — such as would in popular speech be termed a cloud- 
burst. There was a mighty freshet, the waters of which reached so high 
as to flood his garden and threaten the safety of his house, which he saved 
only by the most strenuous exertions. The land which had been his garden 
was almost entirely washed away and in its place was deposited a pell-mell 
of stones. 

Needless to say, that, by the natives, this incident was and is regarded 
to this day as conclusive evidence of the divine power of Ku-mauna and of 
his wrath at the audacious person who insulted him. Special significance 
is attached to the fact that as part of Ku-mauna's reprisal the place that 
had been a garden was turned into a field of rocks. The only wonder is 
that Mr. S got off with so light a punishment. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

THE DEATH OF LOHIAU 

Lohiau, in his last agony, wandered in mind and babbled of 
many things. To his credit, be it said that his thoughts were 
not wholly centered on himself. There was a margin of regard 
for others, as when he sang in these words : 

Aloha na hale o makou i makamaka ole, 
Ke ala hele mauka o Huli-wale la, e. 
Huli wale ; ke huli wale a'e nei no, 
I ka makana ole, i ka mohai ole e ike aku ai, 
E kanaenae aku ai la ho'i, ia oe, ia oe! 

TRANSLATION 

My love to the homes made -desolate, 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 213 

On the road which makes this turning. 
I turn away with an empty hand, 
Lacking an offering fit to make peace, 
To soften thy heart and appease thee — 
To soften thy heart and content thee. 

At the last flicker of Hfe, when the rocky encasement had well 
nigh completed the envelopment of his body, Hiiaka, daring the 
barrier of fire that had come between them, sprang to his side 
and, with the last kiss, whispered into his ear, "Go not on the 
side whence the wind blows ; pass to leeward, on the day of our 
meeting." (Mai hele i ka makani; hele i ka pohu, ma ka la a 
katia e halawai ai.) By this cryptic expression, Hiiaka meant to 
put Lohiau on his guard against enemies that lay in wait for 
him. If he went to the windward he might reveal himself to 
them by his flair. She also embodied her warning in song : 

Aloha ko'u hoa i ka ua pua-kukui, 

Kui lehua o Moe-awakea, 

Lei pua o Ka-la-hui-pua, 

Kae'e lehua o Pu'u-lena, la, mauka : 

Mauka oe e hele ai, 

Ma ka ulu o ka makani ; 

O moe'a oe e ka a Pu'u-lena la — 

Make, make loa o oe ! 

TRANSLATION 

My love to thee, mate of the sifting rain, 

Such time as we strung the lehua. 

In the snatches of noonday rest, 

On the days when we dreamed of reunion ; 

And this was done in the uplands. 

In the uplands you shall safely journey; 

Safe in the hush and lee of the wind ; 

Lest the blasts of Pu'u-lena shall smite 

And sweep you away to an endless doom. 

A swarm of emotions buzzed in the chambers of Hiiaka's 
mind, of love, of self-destruction, of revenge. In an agony of 
indecision she strode this way and that, wringing her hands and 
wailing in a strictly human fashion. The master passion came 



214 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

to the front and had sway : she would find Lohiau, and with him 
renew the bond of friendhness which had grown up in the midst 
of the innocent joys and toils of travel shared by them in com- 
mon. An access of divine power came to her. She immediately 
began to tear up the strata of the earth. As she broke through 
the first stratum and the second, she saw nothing. She tore her 
way with renewed energy: rock smote against rock and the air 
was full of flying debris. 

After passing the third stratum, she came upon a ghastly 
sight — the god of suicide, suspended by the neck, his tongue 
protruding from his mouth. It was a solemn lesson. After 
passing the fourth stratum she came upon the stratum of Wakea, 
and here she found the inanimate bodies of her former com- 
panions of travel, the faithful Wahine-oma'o and Pau-o-pala'e. 
She restored them to life and animation, bidding them return 
to the beautiful world of sunshine and fresh air. 

She came at last to the tenth stratum with full purpose to 
break up this also and thus open the flood-gates of the great deep 
and submerge Pele and her whole domain in a flood of waters. 
That, indeed, would have been the ruin of all things. At this 
moment there came to Hiaaka the clear penetrating tone of a 
familiar voice. It was the voice of her fast friend and traveling 
companion, Wahine-oma'o, who had but recently left her and 
who, now, under the inspiration of the great god Kane, had come 
to dissuade Hiiaka from her purpose. For the execution of that 
purpose meant a universe in confusion. It was time, then, for 
Kane to interfere. He did this by putting into the mouth of 
of her dearest friend on earth an appeal to which Hiiaka could 
not but listen and, listening, heed: 

A po Kaena i ka ehu o ke kai ; 

Ki-pu iho la i ka lau o ke ahi ; 

Pala e'ehu i ka La ka ulu o Poloa, e ! 

Po wale, ho'i ; e ho'o-po mai ana ka oe ia'u, 

I ka hoa o ka ua, o ke anu, o ke ko'eko'e ! 

Auhea anei oe ? Ho'i mai kaua ; 

He au Ko'olau(o) aku ia. 



(a) Ko'olau, a term applied generally to the windward side of an island, 
which was, of course, the stormy side. The expression au Ko'olau, or 
Ko'olau weather, is one of great significance. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 215 

TRANSLATION 

Kaena is darkened with sea-mist; 
Eruptions burst up mid lakes of flame; 
Scorched and gray are Po-loa's bread-fruits. 
Now, as a climax, down shuts the night. 
You purpose to blind with darkness 
The woman who went as your fellow 
Through rain and storm and piercing cold. 
List now, my friend : return with me — 
We've had a spell of nasty weather! 

For Hiiaka to give ear to the pleading voice of her friend, the 
woman who had shared with her the shock of battle and the 
hardships of travel from Hawaii to Kaua'i and back again, was 
to run the risk of being persuaded. 

"Come with me," said Wahine-oma'o ; "let us return to our 
mistress." 

"I must first seek and find Lohiau," answered Hiiaka. 

"Better for us first to go before Pele. She will send and bring 
Lohiau." Thus pleaded the woman Wahine-oma'o. 

Hiiaka turned from the work of destruction and, hand in 
hand, they made their way back into the light and wholesome 
air of the upper world. 

The sisters — those who bore the name Hiiaka — received her 
cordially enough. They prattled of many things; buzzed her 
with questions about her travels of long ago — as it now seemed 
to Hiiaka. It was not in their heart to stir the embers of painful 
issues. No more was it in their heart to fathom the little Hiiaka 
of yesterday, the full-statured woman of to-day. Beyond the 
exchange of becoming salutations, Hiiaka's mouth was sealed. 
Until Pele should see fit to lend ear and heart to her speech not 
a word would she utter regarding her journey. 

But Pele lay on her hearth silent, sullen — no gesture, no look 
of recognition. 

The kino wailua, or spirit from Lohiau, in the meantime, after 
having in vain tried to solace itself with the companionship of 
the forest song-birds and having found that resource empty of 
human comfort, fluttered across the desolate waste of ocean like 
a tired sea-bird back to his old home and there appeared to his 
aikane Paoa in a vision at night. 

"Come and fetch me," he said (meaning, of course, his body). 
"You will find me lying asleep at Kilauea." 



216 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Paoa started up in a fright. "What does this mean?" he said 
to himself. 'That Lohiau is in trouble?" 

When he had lain down again the same vision repeated itself. 
This time the command was imperative : "Come and rescue me ; 
here I am in the land of non-recognition." (a) 

Now Paoa roused himself, assured that Lohiau's sleep was 
that of death, but not knowing that he was, for the second time, 
the victim of Pele's wrath. He said nothing to anyone but made 
all his preparations for departure in secret, reasoning that Ka- 
hua-nui, the sister of Lohiau, would not credit his story and 
would consequently interfere with his plans. 

He entered his canoe and, pressing the water with his paddle, 
his craft made a wonderful run towards Hawaii. It was neces- 
sary for him only to dip his paddle in the brine at intervals and 
to direct the course. The canoe seemed almost to move of itself 
That same morning he arrived at Waipio. To his astonishment, 
there, in a boat-shed on the beach lay the canoe which he recog- 
nized as that of his friend Lohiau. The people of the district 
had been wondering whose it was and how it had come there. 

Paoa found many things that were new and strange to him in 
this big raw island of Hawaii. Not the least of these was the 
land on which he trod, in places a rocky shell covering the earth 
like the plates on the back of the turtle, or, it might be, a tumble 
of jagged rocks — the so-called aa — a terrain quite new to his 
experience. It seemed as if the world-maker had not completed 
his work. 

Of the route to Kilauea he was quite ignorant, but he was led. 
There flitted before him a shadow, a wraith, a shape and he fol- 
lowed it. At times he thought he could recognize the form of 
Lohiau and, at night or in the deep shadows of the forest, he 
seemed to be looking into the face of his friend. 

When night came he lay down in a sheltered place and slept. 
In the early morning, while darkness yet brooded over the land, 
he was roused by the appearance of a light. His first thought 
was that day had stolen upon him ; but no, it was the kino wailua 
of his friend that had come to awaken him and lead him on the 
last stage of his journey. 



(a) E ki'i mai oe ia'u; eia au la i ke au a ka hewahewa. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 217 

CHAPTER XXXVI 

PAOA SEEKS OUT THE BODY OF HIS DEAD 
FRIEND LOHIAU 

Under the lead of his spiritual guide, Paoa arrived that day 
at Kilauea and, standi;ig at the brink of the great caldera, he saw 
the figure of Lohiau beckoning to him as it stood on a heap of 
volcanic debris. The wraith dissolved into nothingness as he 
approached the spot; but there lay a figure in stone having the 
semblance of a man. It was more an act of divination than the 
exercise of ordinary judgment that told him this was the body of 
Lohiau. 'T thought you had summoned me to take home your 
living body, my friend!" was his exclamation. His voice was 
broken with emotion as he poured out his lament : 

Mau a'alina oe mauka o Ka-la-ke-ahi ; 

Ma Puna ka huli mai ana; 

Ka ua a Makali'i, 

Ke ua la i Laau, 

I Kati, i Ka-hihi, i Ka-pe'a, 

I ke wao a ke akua. 

Eia ho'i au la, o ka Maka-o-ke-ahi ; 

Aole ho'i na la o ka Lawa-kua, 

Ke Koolau la, e, aloha ! 

Aloha ku'u hoa i ka ua anu lipoa, 

Hu'ihu'i, ko'eko'e, kaoii: 

He ahi ke kapa o kaua e mehana ai, 

E lala ai kaua i Oma'o-lala; 

I pili wale, i ha'alele la, e. 

Ha'alele i Wailua na hoa aloha — 

O Puna, aina aloha, 

O Puna, i Kaua'i. 

TRANSLATION 

Thou bundle of scars from a fiery day, 
'Twas at Puna our journey began, 
With a dash of rain in the summer; 
Rain again when we entered the woods, 
Rain, too, in Kati, in the jungle, 
In the forest-haunts of the gods, 



218 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Rain at each crossing of road and path : — 
Here stand I, with fire in my eye: 
Our days of communion are gone; 
You've bidden adieu to Ko'olau: 
Hail now to my mate of the gloomy rain — 
When wet and cold and chilled to the bone, 
Our garment of warmth the blazing hearth; 
Then basked we at Oma'o-lala, 
Haunting the place, then tearing away. 
E'en so you tore away from your friends, 
Those friends of Wailua, of Puna — 
That dear land of Puna, Kaua'i! 

(Here is another version of the eloquent prayer of Paoa; 
furnished by Poepoe, who obtained it from Rev. Pa'aluhi) : 

O mau a'alina oe, 

mau kakala ke ahi. 
Ma Puna ka hiki'na mai 
A ka ua makali'i, 

Ka ua a'ala ai laau, 

1 ka hiki, i ka pa'a, 
I ke ahu a ke Akua. 
Eia ho'i au, la. 

O ka maka o ke ahi ; 
Aole ho'i na la, 

ka lawakua(a) a ke Koolau. 
E, aloha o'u hoa, 

1 ka ua a ka lipoa,(&) 

Lihau anu, ko'eko'e, ka-o-u — 
He ahi ke kapa e mehana ai, 
E lala(c) ai kaua i Oma'o-lala. (rf) 
I pili wale, i ha'alele la, e. 
Ha'alele i Puna na hoaloha, e, 
Ka aina i ka houpu a Kane(^) 
He aikane ka mea aloha, e 
He-e! 



(a) LawaTcua, an intimate companion, a friend. 

(b) Ua a ka Upoa, a fine, cold rain; a Scotch mist. 

(c) Lala, to bask in the sunlight. 

(d) Oma'o-lala, a place in upper Ola'a, named from the bird oma'o. 

(e) Aina i ka houpv, a Kane, a proverbial expression applied to Puna, 
signifying the affection in which Puna was held. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 219 

TRANSLATION 

You've encased him tight in a lava shell, 

Scorched him with tongues of flame. 

Puna, the place of thy landing, 

First impact of winter rain — 

Sweet rain, feeding the perfume. 

Drunk by vine and firm-rooted tree — 

The wilderness-robe of the gods. 

Here am I, too, eye-flash of flame; 

As for them, no friends they of mine: 

Companions mine of the stormy coast, 

My love goes forth to my toil-mate 

Of the mist, cold rain and driving storm; 

A blazing hearth our garment then, 

And to bask in the sun at Oma'o-lala. 

Those seeming friends, they went with us, 

And then, they left us in Puna — 

Land dear to the heart of Kane: 

Who eats of your soul is your true friend. 

Woe is me, woe is me! 

Hiiaka, not yet come back from her adventures in the under- 
world, heard this lament of Paoa and wondered at his per- 
formance — that he, a handsome man, should be standing out 
in the open with not even a malo about his loins to hide his 
nakedness, "I wonder what is his name," she said aloud. 

Paoa, intent on supersensual things, heard the wondering 
words of Hiiaka and responded to them: 

Hulihia ke au, pe'a ilalo i Akea ; 
Hulihia ka mole o ka honua; 
Hulihia ka ale ula, ka ale lani, 
I ka puko'a, ka a'aka,(a) ke ahua, 
Ka ale po'i, e, i ka moku. 
Nawele ke ahi, e, a i Kahiki; 



(a) A'aka, an ocean cave (definition not given in the dictionary.) 



220 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Nawele ka maka o Hina-ulu-ohi'a.(6) 

Wela ka lani, kau kahaea;(c) 

Wahi'a ka lani, uli-pa'a ka lani; 

Eleele ka lau o Ka-hoa-li'i; 

Ka pohaku kuku'i o ka Ho'oilo; 

Naha mai Ku-lani-ha-ko'i;(c?) 

Ke ha'a-lokuloku nei ka ua; 

Ke nei nei ke ola'i; 

Ke ikuwa mai la i uka. 

Ke o'oki la i ka piko o ka hale, 

A mo' ka piko i Eleua,(^) i Eleao: 

Ka wai e ha'a Kula-manu,(/) 

Ka nahele o Ke-hua, 

I loa i ke kula o Ho'o-kula-manu. 

E Pele, e wahi'a(^) ka lani; 

E Pele e, ka wahine ai laau o Puna, 

Ke ai holoholo la i ka papa o Hopoe ; 

Pau a'e la Ku-lili-ka-ua(A) 

(&) Nawele ka maka o Hina-ulu-oM'a. By metonymy, a figure of speech 
for which the Hawaiian poets showed great fondness, the name of the goddess, 
or superior being, Hina-ulu-ohi'a, is here used instead of the fruit which 
seems to have been her emblem. This fruit, the oM'a puakea, is a variety 
of the ohi*a ai, or mountain apple, as it is commonly called. The common 
variety is of a deep red color shading into purple ; but this variety, depart- 
ing from tlie usual rule, is of a pale lemon color. This pale variety shows 
a faint pink or reddish ring about the maka, or eye where the flower was 
implanted. The poet's fancy evidently makes a comparison between this 
delicate aureole and the dim glow by which the volcanic fire made itself 
perceived in its periphery at Kahiki. 

(c) Kahaea, a pile of white cumulus clouds, or a single large cloud, which 
was regarded by weather prophets, soothsayers and diviners as a significant 
portent. 

(d) Ku-lani-ha-ko'i. The old Hawaiians imagined that somewhere in 
the heavens was an immense reservoir of water, and that a heavy down- 
pour of rain was due to the breaking of its banks. When the clouds of storm 
and rain gathered thick and black, they saw in this phenomenon a confirmation 
of their belief, which gained double assurance when the clouds discharged 
their watery contents. 

(e) Eleua. . . .Eleao. When a Hawaiian house had a door at each end, 
the door at one end was named Ele-ua, that at the other end Ele-ao. 

(f) Kula-manu. A plain or tract of land that was flooded in wet 
toeather and thus converted for a time into a resort for water-fowl, was 
termed a kula-manu or bird plain. 

(fir) Wahi'a ka lani. This passive form of the verb has here the force 
of entreaty almost equivalent to the imperative. The opening here spoken 
of was the parting and drawing aside of the dark clouds that shut in the 
heavens, an opening that would be equivalent to the restoration of peace 
and good will. 

(h) Ku-lili-ka-ua, the name applied to a grove of pandanus in Puna. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 221 

Ka nahele makai o Keaau, 
A ka mahu a ka Wahine, 
Ka uahi kea i uka, 
Ke ai la i Pohaku-loa,(^) 
I ke ala a Lau-ahea;(y) 
He wawaka ka huila o ka lani. 
E Ku-kuena (^)e, na'u ho'i e noho 
Ka la puka i Ha'eha'e. 
O ka luna o Uwe-kahuna; 
O ka uwahi hauna-laau; 
O ke po'o ku i ka pohaku; 
' O ka ala kani koele; 

A ka nakolo i ka nei. 
Ma'alili ole ai ua 'kua ai i ke a; 
Nakeke ka niho o Pele i Kilauea; 
Pohaku wai ku kihikihij(m) 
Ku hiwa ai i ka maka o ka pohaku — 
Pohaku ai-wawae o Malama; 
Hopo aku ka haka'i hele i ka la. 
Pi'i a ka wai i uka, 
Moana ai wai a ka Oloht;(n) 
Kawa lele ai Kilauea; 
Hohonu ai ka lua i uka, 
Kapuahi ku-ku-ku. 
Nau ke ku'i o ke Akua; 
Holo ka paku'i, lahe'a i na moku. 
Nou ka lili, no ke Akua: 

(i) Pohaku-loa, the name of a rocky ledge or cliff in Puna. 

(j) Lau-ahea. This was a deceitful voice, a vocal Will-o'-the-wisp, that 
was sometimes heard by travelers and that enticed them into the wilder- 
ness or thicket there to be entrapped in some lua meke or fathomless pit. 

(k) Kuku-ena, a sister of Pele who, like Kahili-opua, was a physician and 
of a benevolent disposition. She was wont to act as the guide to travelers 
who had their way in the mazes of a wilderness. So soon, however, as the 
traveler had come clear into a clear place and was able to orient himself, 
she modestly disappeared. 

(m) Ku kihikiM, to stand cornerwise or edgewise. In the ebullition that 
stirs the mass of a lava lake at seemingly rhythmical intervals the congealed 
crust that has formed on the surface is seen to break up, become tilted 
on edge, and then be sucked down into the depths by the vortex of the lava- 
pit. The allusion here is to the tilting of the plate on edge in this wonderful 
phenomenon. 

(n) Olohe. This is explained and described as meaning a spectral ap- 
pearance of human figures and of objects animate and inanimate moving 
about in the firmament. The description given of it almost leads one to 
think it a mirage or fata morgana. 



222 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Lili'a i uka, lili'a i kai — 

O ka lili kepa i o kipi-kipi. 

O haele a Mauna Pu'u-kuolo(o) 

A ka ehu o lalo 

Pau mahana ai ka Wai-welawela. 

E Ku e, ke'ehia, ke'ehia ka pae opua ; 

Hina ololo i Ulu-nui : 

Hina aku la, palala ke ao — 

He ao omea a Ulu-lani. 

Ke wela nei ka La; 

Ke kau nei ka malu hekili iltina : 

Ku'i, naue ka leo o ka opua, e — 

Opua ai laau la; 

A ka luna i Moku-aweo-weo 

Hua'i Pele i ona kino ; 

Lawe ka ua la, lawe ke kaupu e; 

Opiopi kai a ke Akua; 

Kuahiwi haoa(/') i Kau i waena. 

Ho'po mai la Puna i ka uwahi a ke Akua ; 

Poa ino no ka pua e lu ia nei. 

Pau ku'u kino lehua a i kai o Puna : 

Hao'e Puna, koele ka papa; 

O ka uwahi na'e ke ike'a nei. 

Kai-ko'o ka lua, kahuli ko'o ka lani 

Ke Akua ai lehua o Puna, 

Nana i ai iho la Hawaii kua uli: 

Wahi'a ka lani; ne'e Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i;(^) 

Ne'e Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-moe ; 

O Hiiaka-pa'i-kauhale ; 

Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena ;(r) 

Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-lau-i ; 

O Hiiaka-noho-lae;(^) 



(p) Kuahiwi Tiaoa, a term applied in Kau) to a forest-clump which a 
devastating lava flow has spared, after having laid waste the country on 
all sides of it. 

iq) Hiiaha-i-ka-ale-i, Hiiaka of the bounding' billow. The number of 
the sisters in whose names that of Hiiaka formed a part was considerable, 
as may be inferred from the fact that the names here mentioned do not 
Include the whole list of them. 

(r) HTiaka-i-Tca-pua-enaena, Hiiaka of the burning flower. Her emblem 
was the little budlike pea-blossom flame. This name is sometimes given as 
Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-aneane, a more delicate but less striking epithet. 

(s) Hiiaka-noho-lae, Hiiaka who dwells on the cape. She was recog- 
nized by a trickle of blood on the forehead. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 223 

Hiiaka-wawahi-lani ; 

Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, 

Halanalana waimaka e hanini nei ; 

Wela mai ka maka o ka ulu o Ho'olono, e. 

Ho'olono au o Ho'olei'a. 

O Ho'olei'a au; o Kalei (au) a Paoa; 

O Paoa au la, i lono oe. 

TRANSLATION 

The world is convulsed ; the earth-plates sink 

To the nether domain of Wakea ; 

Earth's rooted foundations are broken ; 

Flame-billows lift their heads to the sky; 

The ocean-caves and reefs, the peopled land 

And the circle of island coast 

Are whelmed in one common disaster: 

The gleam of it reaches Kahiki : — 

Such blush encircles the pale apple's eye. 

Heaven 's blotted out, the whole sky darkened; 

Hoali'i's cliffs are shadowed with gloom. 

Now bellows the thunder of Winter; 

Ku-lani-ha-ko'i's banks are broken; 

Down pours a pitiless deluge of rain; 

There's rumble and groan of the earthquake, 

The reverberant roar of thunder, 

The roof-stripping swoop of the tempest, 

Tearing the thatch over Ele-ua, 

Tearing the thatch over Ele-ao. 

The freshet makes home for the water-fowl. 

Flooding the thickets at Kehau, 

The wide-spread waters of Kula-manu. 

O Pele, fold back the curtains of heaven; 

Thou Woman, consumer of Puna woods. 

Swift thy foray in Hopoe's fields : 

The land of contending rains is wiped out. 

And the lands that border Keaau. 

Up springs the steam from her caldron, 

A white cloudy mountain of smoke: 

She's consuming the bowlders of Long-rock, 

The treacherous paths of Lau-ahea. 

A flash of lightning rends the sky! 



224 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

O Ku-kuena, 'tis for you to dwell 

In the flaming Eastern Gate of the Sun. 

The plateau of Uwe-kahuna 

Breathes the reek of burning woods; 

There's pelting of heads with falling stones 

And loud the clang of the smitten plain, 

Confused with the groan of the earthquake. 

Yet this cools not the rock-eater's rage: 

The Goddess grinds her teeth in the Pit. 

Lo, tilted rock-plates melt like snow — 

Black faces that shine like a mirror — 

Sharp edges that bite the foot of a man, 

The traveler's dread in the glare of the sun.(^) 

The fire-flood swells in the upland — 

A robber-flood — it dries up the streams. 

Here's cliff for god's jumping, when wild their sport; 

Deep the basin below, and boiling hot. 

The Goddess gnashes her teeth and the reek 

Of her breath flies to the farthest shore. 

Thine was the fault, O Goddess, thine, a 

Jealous passion at all times and places — 

The snap and spring of a surly dog. 

Let your gnashing range to its limit, 

Till it reaches the fringe of your skirt. 

Your hot paii at Wai-welawela. 

Trample down, O Ku, these ominous clouds; 

Let them sag and fall at Ulu-nui. 

They flatten, they break; look, they spread. 

White loom, now, the clouds of Ulu-lani; 

Fierce blazes the Sun, and Thunder 

Unrolls his black curtains on high. 

Then bellows his voice from the cloud — 

The ominous cloud that swallows the trees. 

From the crest of Moku-aweo 

Pele pours out her body, her self — 

A turmoil of rain and of sea-fowl. 

Now boils the lake of the Goddess: 

In Ka-u an oasis-park remains; ^ 

Her smoke covers Puna with night. 

What a robbery this, to crush the flowers ! 

(t) O ka la ko luna. O ka palioehoe ko lalo. The sun overhead. The 
lava below. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 225 

My bodily self, my lehuas, gone! 

My precious lehuas, clean down to Puna! 

And Puna — the land is trenched and seared ! 

The smoke that o'erhangs it, that I can see. 

High surf in the Pit, turmoiling the sky — 

The god who ate Puna's Lehuas, 

She 'twas laid waste green-robed Hawaii. 

The heavens — let them rend, Hiiaka ! 

Plunge you in the wild tossing sea; 

And you, who delight in the calm sea; 

Hiiaka, thou thatcher of towns, 

Hiiaka, soul of the flame-bud; 

Hiiaka, emblemed in ti-bud; 

Hiiaka, who dwells on the headland; 

Hiiaka, who parts heaven's curtains; 

Hiiaka — of Pele's own heart! 

These tears well from eyes hot with weeping, 

The eyes of this scion, this herald: 

I proclaim that he's outcast and exiled. 

'Tis I, Paoa announce this: 

He speaks what is meet for your ear! 



CHAPTER XXXVH 

PAOA COMES BEFORE PELE 

The eminence of Akani-kolea stood near at hand and offered 
Kaoa a vantage ground for better contemplation of the mysteri- 
ous earth-pit, and when the first tide of emotion had swept by 
thither he repaired. Looking down into the desolate abyss, his 
gaze centered on a group of human figures, beautiful women, 
seated on the vast plates of pahoehoe that made the floor of the 
caldera. He saw but four of them, Pele herself not being visible. 
He had no clue as to their identity and was only impressed as 
by the sight of beautiful women who were to him as goddesses. 
The grandeur and strangeness of the scene moved him to song: 

Hulihia ka Mauna, 
Wela i ke ahi a ka Wahine ; 
Wela na ohi'a o Kulili i ka ua; 
Wela, a nopu ke ahi o ka Lua. 



226 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ai kamumu, nakeke ka pahoehoe; 
Wela, a iluna o Hale-ma'uma'u ; 
Malu ka pali o Ka-au-ea. 
Auwe, e Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, e, 
E ola, e, e ola Lohiau-ipo, 
I ka pali o Kee, i Haena, e ! 

TRANSLATION 

Destruction and turmoil in the Pit: 
The fires of the Woman have done it — 
Consuming the forests of Ku-lili — 
Fires that boil from the depths of the Pit, 
Shaking the stone-plates till they rattle. 
It's furnace-hot in that House-of-fern, 
But there's shelter at Ka-au-ea. 
Oh Hiiaka of Pele's heart, 
Life to thee, and life to dear Lohiau — 
Soul plucked by thee from death at Kee, 
Death in the cliff Kee, at Haena. 

Pele, in the retirement of her gloomy cavern, was quite out of 
the range of Paoa's eye-shot, but his voice rang in her ears dis- 
tinctly. "What a handsome man is that standing on the edge 
of the cliff at Akani-kolea!" exclaimed Pele's women, unable 
to repress their admiration. 

"Call to him and invite him to come down here where we can 
talk together," said Pele. "Way up there on the pali wall — 
that's no place for us to talk and become acquainted with each 
other. Tell him to come down here and we'll discuss matters 
great and small, look upon the large stem and the small stem; 
see one another face to face; learn each other's heart's de- 
sire."(a) 

For all her fine words, Pele did not at once come forward and 
meet her visitor face to face. She lay unrecognized in her 
Stygian boudoir, to all appearance a withered hag. 

Paoa, well versed in the wiles of Woman, adept in the logo- 
machies and etiquettes of court-life, was quite put to his trumps 
and found it necessary to summon all his diplomacy and exer- 

(a) Aohe o kahi nana oluna o ka pali. Iho mai a lalo nei; ike i ke au 
nui me ke au iki, he alo a he alo ; nana i ka makemake. The exact meaning of 
ke au iki and ke au nui is not clear. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 227 

cise all his power of self-command in dealing with the shrewd 
and attractive women that surrounded him. It was evident to 
the watchful eye of our heroine — Hiiaka — that he was danger- 
ously attracted by the voluptuous beauty of her sister, Hiiaka- 
of-the-waves. In the persistent silence of Pele, upon her fell 
the leading part of the conversation with Paoa : 

"What might be the purpose of your pilgrimage?" she asked. 

"I come in answer to the call of my friend, Lohiau." 

"But Lohiau is dead," chorused the women. 

"Yes, dead! And what was the cause of his death?" 

"He kissed Hiiaka," the woman answered. 

"Ah! but who killed him?" 

"Pele." Her voice sank to a whisper, and the name she ut- 
tered was to be made out, or guessed at, rather by a study of 
the protruding lips and the sympathetic arching of the brow than 
by any sound emitted. Her eyes also made a half-turn in the 
direction of Pele's cave. 

"He came to Hawaii in the expectation that Pele would be 
his life." Paoa spoke with thoughtful deliberation. "How came 
it about that she should cause his death ?" . . . After a moment's 
pause, he continued : "He tasted death once at Haena and, now, 
again, here, on this barren ... a second death, and through 
the wrath of Pele!" 

Pele roused herself at this and spoke up: "What is that you 
say? that Lohiau died at Haena?" 

"Yes, he tasted of death there," Paoa answered firmly. 

"How, then, did he become alive again?" asked Pele sharply. 

"Hiiaka, she treated him, and by her gracious skill and power 
brought his soul and body together again. That done, they 
sailed away for Hawaii." 

The eyes of Pele were literally, as well as metaphorically, 
opened. She turned herself about and, in a lowered voice, with 
a show of astonishment, for the first time, addressed Hiiaka: 
"Is this true, that you worked over Lohiau and restored him to 
Hfe?" 

"It is true, and it is also true that, not until you had put to 
death Hopoe, did I bestow any dalliance or caress of love upon 
Lohiau." 

Hiiaka's expression as she faced Pele was such as might have 
sat upon the countenance of a judge passing sentence on a con- 
fessed criminal at the bar. 

Pele sat impenetrable, sphinxlike, deep in her own labyrinthine 



228 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

philosophy of the obligations due to a social autocrat and a 
goddess. 

Paoa broke the silence: ''Shall not Lohiau, then, live again?" 

''Go back to Haena," said Pele, "and when you hear that 
Lohiau lives again, then will be the time for yoil to come and 
take him home." 

"That would be well, then," said Paoa. 

A spell of confusion, of enchantment, seemed now to fall upon 
the man whilom so boastful. "But where is Pele?" he asked, 
looking from face to face. 

"That is Pele," said the goddess, pointing to her sister Wave 
( Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i ) . 

"I have a sign by which I may know Pele; let me apply the 
test to these women," said Paoa. 

The company could but agree to this; whereupon, beginning 
with Wave, he took each one of them in turn by the hand, car- 
rying it to his cheek, the better to test its warmth, holding the 
hollow to his ear to catch any murmur that might reverberate 
from it. Each hand he found to be only of natural heat. Turn- 
ing, then, to Pele herself, he proposed to inspect her hand. At 
this the goddess drew back. 

"If none of these beautiful women is Pele, how can you think 
that a wrinkled old woman like me is the divine and beautiful 
Pele?" 

Paoa insisted and Pele had to consent. He reached out and 
took her hand and, on the instant, dropped it; it was burning 
hot. 

"This is Pelel" he exclaimed. 

Paoa stood in awed silence before the goddess. Resentment 
and thoughts of revenge, like evil birds, had taken flight. 

At Pele's command, the women led him away to take refresh- 
ment in the sacred dining hall of Mauli-ola. Before seating 
himself, Paoa uttered this memorable pule, a mele that has 
drifted down to us from the zva po 

Hulihia ke au, ka papa honua o kona moku ; 

Hulihia, kulia mai ka moku o Kahiki — 

Aina no Kahiki i ka la kahi, 

Aina ho'owali'a e Haumea: 

Ho-omoe aku la Kahiki-ku, 

Kulapa mai ka ulu wela, o mai ke ahi. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 229 

Keehi aku la no e nalo(a) kapua'i, e — 

Kapua'i akua no Pele. 

Ke ke'ekeehi wale la no i ka lani; 

Haule, u'ina i Polapola; 

Noho i ka lau ha'a o ka moku. 

Hina Kukulu o Kahiki; 

Hina ka omuku i ka makani; 

Hina ka pae opua ki'i ke ao ; 

Hina ka onohi ula(&) i ka lani; 

Kanewenewe opua i ke kai. 

Ea mai ana ma Nihoa, 

Ma ka mole mai o Lehua, 

Mai Kaua'i nui a Oahu, a Moloka'i, 

Lana'i a Kanaloa, mai Maui a Hawaii, 

Ka Wahine — o Pele — i hi'a i kana ahi 

A a pulupulu, kukuni, wela ka lani: 

He uwila ku'i no ka honua; 

Hekili pa'apa'ina i ke ao; 

Pohaku puoho, lele iluna; 

Opa'ipa'i wale ka Mauna; 

Pipili ka lani, pa'a ia moku. 

Nalo Hawaii i ka uahi a ka Wahine, 

I ka lili a ke Akua. 

Oliliku ka ua mai ka lani ; 

Lili ana ho'i i kana ahi; 

Lili ana ho'i Pele 

Hama-hamau ka leo, mai pane! 

Eia Pele, ko'u Akua! 

Ke lauwili nei ka makani ; 

Hoanoano mai ana na eho lapa uwila; 

Hekili wawahi ka lani ; 

Ku loloku ka ua i uka; 

Ku'i ka hekili, nei ke ola'i; 

Lele kapu i kai.(jr) 

Hiki lele ai i lalo o Kane-lu-honua. 

O Kane-pua-hiohio, wili, — 

Wili ia i uka, wili ia i kai ; 



(a) Keehi . . . . e nalo kapua'i. I am informed that Hawaiians, in 
order to conceal their goings, would erase their footprints by blurring them 
with their feet. 

(&) Onohi ula i ka lani, a fragment of a rainbow. 

(x) Lele kapu i kai. This may be put, — the old order has passed. 



230 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Will ia i luna, wili ia i lalo ; 

Wili ia i ka ua, 

I ka hoole akua, hoole mana — (c) 

Ka ho'o-malau,(c?) e, ka ho'o-maloka;(^) 

Ke A-papa-nu'u,(/) ke A-papa-lani.(^) 

O Mano-ka-lani-po,(/^) o ke aka lei-hulu — 

Hulu o manu kiii, o manu ahiahi ; 

O manu aha'i lono : — 

Ha'ina a'e ana ka mana o ko'u Akua 

Iwaho nei la, e ; ha'ina ho'i ! 

Kukulu ka pahu kapu a ka leo:(t) 

He ala(y) hele, he ala muku, 

No Kane, laua o Kanaloa; 



(c) Hoole akua, hoole mana. (To deny God, to deny supernatural 
power). It thus appears that the old Hawaiians were not unacquainted 
with those phases of skepticism that have flourished in all philosophic, times. 

id) Ho'o-malau, to treat one's religious duties, or solemn things, with 
scorn. 

(e) Ho'o-maloka, to be neglectful of one's religious duties, or of solemn 
things. In old times, how often did the writer hear the term ho'o-maloka 
applied as a stigma to those who persistently neglected and showed indif- 
ference to the services and ordinances of the church. 

if) Apapa-nu'u, the under- world and its spiritual powers. 

ig) Apapa-laniy the heavens and their spiritual powers. 

ih) Mano-ka-lani-po. This distinguished name was borne by that one 
of Kaua'i's kings who preceded its last independent monarch, Ka-umu-alii, 
by fourteen generations, which would bring his reign in the first half of the 
fifteenth century. He has the honor, unique among Hawaiian kings, of hav- 
ing his name affixed as a sobriquet to the island that was his kingdom. 
Whether the use of his name in this connection, apparently as a god, is to 
be regarded as antedating its occurrence in the Ulu genealogy (given by 
Fornander. See The Polynesian Race; vol. I, p. 195.), or whether, on the 
other hand, it is to be considered as an apotheosis of a name justly held in 
veneration, we cannot decide. 

H) Pahu-kapu a ka leo. The best-informed and most thoughtful among 
the Hawaiian authorities have poorly defined and contradictory notions as to 
the meaning of this term. Its literal meaning may be given as sacred (or 
tabu pillar. Mr. Tregear, in his incomparable Maori Comparative Diction- 
ary, gives one meaning of the word to be sanctuary. One thoughtful Ha- 
waiian defines it as a pillar, such as Pele set up, due regard for which de- 
manded silence. Another, equally well informed, defines it as an edict, or 
canon. To the writer it seems more logical and safer to adopt the material 
View regarding this phrase. 

ij) Ala hele .... ala muku, (literally, a short path or road). This 
ala hele . . . ala muku was probably the rainbow. It is said in Hawaiian 
story that when Hiiaka came down from the cave where she found the body 
of Lohiau she used a rainbow as her way of descent. In an old mele oc- 
curs this line : O ke anuenue ke ala o Kaha'i. The rainbow was the path 
of Kaha'i. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 231 

He ki(^) ho'iho'i kanawai; 
He kai(/) oki'a kanawai; 
He kua(m) a kanawai — 
No Pele, no ko'u Akua, la! 

TRANSLATION 

There's turmoil and heaving of strata 

In the land She claimed for her own. 

Kahiki was land at the dawn of time, 

A land by Hamnea mixed and tempered; 

Then She spread out Kahiki-ku; 

She kindled her fires; the flames leapt high. 

The Goddess covers her footprints — 

The foot-marks of Goddess Pele — 

She treads the path of the heavens; 

Swoops down and lands at Polapola. 

She dwells in the level island plain. 

Down fall the pillars of Kakihi ; 

The wind topples over the ruins ; 

Down tumble the sun-kissing clouds; 

Down sinks the blood-red eye of Heaven 

And big-bellied clouds that loom at sea. 

Pele heaves in sight at Nihoa — 

That limpet stuck to Lehua's base. 

From famed Kaua'i to Oahu; 

Thence on to Mother Hina's isle; 

To Lana'i of Kanaloa; 

To Maui and, last, to Hawaii : 

This the route of the Woman — Pele. 

Then she rubs her fire-sticks to a blaze : 

Up flames her touchwood, kindling the heavens. 

(fc) Ki ho'iho'i. Hawaiian authorities differ as to the meaning' of this 
phrase. After much cogitation and search, I concluded that the word ki 
has the same root-meaning as i^ to utter, (I find myself supported in such 
an interpretation by no less an authority than Edward Tregear. Maori 
Comparative Dictionary.) 

..(Z) Kai oki'a. Hawaiian authorities are quite at sea as to the meaning 
of these words. I think it means that the ocean is a gulf that swallows 
up and destroys. A very stringent tabu, says one, that regulated the diet, 
cutting off bananas and the like. 

(m) Kua a. Pele is said to have had a back that was so hot that any 
fabric laid upon it was reduced to ashes. It was also said to be tabu for 
any one to approach Pele from behind. 



232 ■ Pele and Hiiaka— a Myth 

Earth sees the flash of Hghtning, hears the boom 

Of thunder echoed by mountain walls — 

Rocks flung in space bombard the day, 

Shaking the mountain to its base. 

The firmament sags, clings to the earth ; 

Hawaii is lost in Her smoke, 

At the passion-heat of the Goddess. 

Down clatters the rain from the sky — 

A damper this to the Goddess' fires ; 

It rouses the wrath of Pele. 

Keep silence ! retort not ! never a word ! 

'Tis the voice of Pele ; she's my God. 

The wind veers ; there's far-off corruscation ; 

The thunder wrenches heaven's gates; 

A sobbing of rain in the mountains. 

The crash of thunder and earthquake : 

Old tabus take flight to the ocean. 

Now starts up the Earth-shaker Kane, 

And Kane, the whirl-wind-breeder — 

A tempest-whirl, o'er mountain and sea; 

A tempest-whirl, in heaven and on earth ; 

A tempest-whirl, sodden with rain, 

The atheist and the skeptic, 

The scorner and unbeliever — 

Powers of the under- world and the air. — 

The hero Mano-ka-lani-p6, 

His emblem a feathery wreath — 

Plume from the bird that spies and tattles, 

From the bird that makes proclamation. 

Declaring the might, the power, of my God ; 

Out here, in the open, declare it. 

Proclaim the edict of silence — 

A short way, a true way, this way 

Of Kane, of Kanaloa — 

Compact this and bind in one bundle; 

Let Ocean then swallow the rest. 

A jealous flame is Pele's back: 

That is the law of Pele, of my God ! 

This pule, which I have heard spoken of as ka pule kanazvai — 
from the use of the word kanawai in the last part of the mele, 
dates back, it is said, to the time of Paao, the priest and chief who 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 233 

came to Hawaii from Samoa in the remote ages. Paoa's argu- 
ment — if he can be said to have had any — seems to be that 
Pele should cast away, throw into the ocean, the lumber of old 
laws and tabus and start afresh. 

Before leaving the subject — the consideration of the mele — 
I must mention, apropos of the expression pahu kapu a ka leo, 
in verse 54, an incident related to me by a Hawaiian friend (J. 
M. P.). He says that when he was a boy, his mother, when a 
thunder-storm arose, would often say to him, "keep silence! 
that's Kane-hekili." In Kahuku, island of Oahu, at a place not 
far from the sugar-mill, is a cave, known as Keana. In former 
times this cave was the home where lived a mother and her two 
sons. One day, having occasion to journey to a distance, she 
left them with this injunction, "If during my absence you hear 
the sound of thunder, keep still, make no disturbance, don't 
utter a word. If you do it will be your death." During her 
absence, there sprang up a violent storm of thunder and light- 
ning, and the young lads made an outcry of alarm. Thereupon 
a thunderbolt struck them dead, turning their bodies into stone. 
Two pillar-shaped stones standing at the mouth of the cave are 
to this day pointed out in confirmation of the truth of the legend. 

As Paoa concluded his prayer-song the eyes of the whole 
company were turned upon him, and on the lips of them all was 
the question, "Was she then your God?" 

"She is my God," he answered, "and my ancestors from the 
earliest times have worshipped her." . . . Then, turning his eyes 
about him, as if to survey the land, he continued, "If this were 
my land, as is Kaua'i, there would be no lack of good and whole- 
some food-provision, and that of all kinds. Things are different 
here ... I am a stranger in this land." 

On hearing these words, which had in them the sting of 
truth, for poison had been mixed with some of the food, the 
women stealthily hid away certain dishes and substituted for 
them others. 

At the conclusion of the repast the women who had been in 
attendance brought him a girdle delicately embroidered with 
fibers from the coconut that he might be suitably appareled for 
his interview with the woman Pele. "You will find," they said, 
"that Pele is in reality a woman of wonderful beauty. ... In 
order to win her, however, you will need to use all your arts 
of fascination . . . and your caution as well. Make hot love 



234 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

to her, but, look out ! don't let your fancy lead you to smile upon 
any other beauty." 

Pele at first kept Paoa at a distance and, with deep subtlety, 
said to him, "Here are beautiful women — women more beauti- 
ful than I — take one of them." 

Paoa, well schooled in courtly etiquette and logomachy, was 
not tripped up by any such snare as Pele laid for him. He stood 
his ground and faced the god as an equal. 

As Pele contemplated Paoa it dawned upon her that here 
stood a man, a being of gracious power, one who combined in 
himself qualities - attractions - she had never before seen ma- 
terially embodied in the human form. The woman in Pele 
laid aside the god -the akua-and came to the front All 
thought of bantering talk and word-play slunk away: her whole 
being was sobered and lifted up. The change in her outward, 
physical appearance kept pace with the inward: the rough armor 
that had beset her like the prongs of horned coral, both without 
and within, melted and dropped away; the haglike wrinkles 
ceased to furrow her profile. Her whole physical being took on 
the type of womanly perfection. 

And what of Paoa, the man who had come with heart full of 
bitterness, determined on revenge? He was conquered, over- 
whelmed. 

Their meeting was that of lovers, who stood abashed in each 
other's presence. Pele's beauty and charm were like that of a 
young bride coming to the nuptial couch. . . . 

The dalliance and love-making of Pele and Paoa was a honey- 
moon that continued for three days and three nights. By virtue 
of this mysterious union with the goddess, Paoa acquitted him- 
self of a ceremonial duty, as it were, and thus gained Pele's dis- 
pensation from further obligations to her bed and the liberty of 
exercising free choice among all the beautiful women that 
thronged Pele's court. It was there he made his abode until the 
time for his return to his own Kaua'i. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 235 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 
HIIAKA AND LOHIAU ... A REUNION 

Hiiaka's sense of outrage touched every fiber of her being and 
stirred such indignation against her sister that she could not 
again take her former place as a member of Pele's court. Hawaii 
was the largest island of the group, but it was not large enough 
to hold herself and Pele. Of all the islands Kaua'i was the one 
most remote from the scene of her troubles ; it was also the land 
which Lohiau had claimed as his own — and his was a name 
that called up only the most tender emotions. To Kaua'i would 
she go. 

The company of those who shared her feelings and whose 
personal attachment to her was sufficient to lead them with her- 
self in a venture of new fortunes was not large. It included, of 
course, her two staunch attendants, Pau-o-pala'e and Wahine- 
oma'o and, strangely enough, a considerable quota of the sisters 
who shared with her the name Hiiaka (qualified though it was 
in each case by some additional distinguishing epithet). Towards 
Kaua'i, then, did they set their faces or, more literally, turn the 
prow of their canoe. 

Many unforeseen things, however, were to happen before the 
God of Destiny would permit her to gain her destination. Other 
strands stood ready to be interwoven with the purposeful threads 
Hiiaka was braiding into her life. 

In the ancient regime of Hawaii, the halau, as the home and 
school of the hula, stood for very much and for many things. It 
served, after a fashion, as a social exchange or clearing house 
for the whole nation; the resort of every wandering minstrel, 
bohemian soul or beau esprit whose oestrus kept him in travel; 
the rallying point of souls dislocated from an old and not yet 
accommodated to a new environment; a place where the anxious 
and discouraged, despairing of a new outlook, or seeking balm 
for bruised hearts, might quaf¥ healing nepenthe. 

It is not to be wondered at, then, that Hiaaka, not yet healed 
of her bruises, on reaching Oahu and finding herself in the 
peaceful haven of Kou, should turn her steps to the home of 
that hospitable siren and patroness of the hula Pele-ula, as to a 
sanitarium or hospital whose resources would avail for the as- 
suagement of her troubles. It was almost an article of Pele- 
ula's creed that in the pleasures and distractions of the hula was 



236 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

to be found a panacea for all the wounds of the spirit ; and Pele- 
ula, as if taking her cue from the lady of the Venusberg, offered 
her consolations generously to every comfort-needing soul that 
fared her way. 

Hiiaka stepped into the life at Pele-ula's court as if she had 
been absent from it for only a day. Madame Pele-ula, good 
sport that she was, bore no grudge against the woman who had 
outplayed her at every turn, and would do it again. She re- 
ceived Hiiaka with open arms. As to entertainment, the play 
was the thing thing and that, fortunately, was already appointed 
for the same evening. It was the same old performance, the 
hula kilu, with but slight change in the actors and with full 
opportunity for Hiiaka to display her marvelous skill in hurling 
the kilu. 

It was Hiiaka's play and she, following the custom of the 
game, was caroling — in sober strain — a song of her own; 
when, to her astonishment, a voice from the crowd struck in and 
carried the song to completion in the very words that would 
have been her's. Hiiaka stood and listened. The voice had a 
familiar ring; the song was not yet in the possession of the 
public, being known only to a few of her own household, among 
whom was to be reckoned Lohiau. There was no avoiding the 
conclusion: it was Lohiau. 

It remains to tell the miracle of Lohiau's reappearance among 
men in living form and at this time. While the body of Lohiau 
lay entombed in its stony shroud, his restless spirit fluttered 
away and sought consolation in the companionship of the song- 
birds that ranged the forests of Hawaii. 

When the magician La'a, who lived in Kahiki, contemplated 
the degraded condition of Lohiau, alienated from all the springs 
of human affection, living as a wild thing in the desert, he de- 
termined on his rescue and despatched Kolea (plover), one of 
his ancestral kupuas, to fetch him. The mission of Kolea was 
not a success. The voice, the manner, the arguments of the 
bird made no appeal to Lohiau ; they were, in fact, distasteful 
to him and rather increased his devotion to his other bird- 
friends. 

''Well, Kolea, what sort of a place is Kahiki?" asked Lohiau. 

"A most charming place," he answered, nodding his head and 
uttering his call, "Ko-le-a, Ko-le-a." 

Lohiau was disgusted with his performances and would have 
nothing more to do with Kolea. 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 237 

When Kolea returned and reported his failure to La'a, that 
magician sent another bird on the same errand, one of more 
seductive ways, UUli. There was something in the voice and 
manner of UHli that touched the fancy and won the heart of 
Lohiau at once and he began to follow him. Ulili skilfully lured 
him on and at last brought him to Kahiki and delivered him over 
to his master. La'a ministered to the soul of Lohiau with such 
tenderness and skill that he became reconciled once more to 
human ways. But the soul of Lohiau still remained an unhoused 
ghost, and at times ranged afar in its restless excursions. 

Now it happened that at the very time when these events were 
taking place Kane-milo-hai, an elder brother of Pele, was voyag- 
ing from Kahiki to Hawaii. His canoe was of that mystical pat- 
tern, the leho (cowry) in which Mawi had sailed. While in the 
middle of the leie-waho channel he caught sight of the distracted 
spirit of Lohiau fluttering like a Mother Carey's chicken over 
the expanse of waters. The poor ghost, as if desirous of com- 
panionship, drew nigh and presently came so near that Kane- 
milo-hai captured it and, having ensconced it in his ipu-holoho- 
Iona,(a) he sailed on his way. 

Reaching Hawaii and coming to the desolate scene of Lohiau's 
tragedy, he recognized a charred heap as the former bodily resi- 
dence of the shivering ghost in his keeping. He broke the stony 
form into many pieces and then, by the magical power that was 
his, out of these fragments he reconstructed the body of Lohiau, 
imparting to it its original form and lineaments. Into this body 
Kane-milo-hai now introduced the soul and Lohiau lived again. 

The tide of new life surging in the veins of Lohiau stirred in 
him emotions that found utterance in song: 

I ola no au i ku'u kino wailua, 

I a'e'a mai e ke 'Hi o Kahiki^ 

Ke 'lii nana i a'e ke kai uli, 

Kai eleele, kai melemele, 

Kai popolo-hua mea a Kane ; 

I ka wa i po'i ai ke Kai-a-ka-hina-lii — 

Kai mu, kai lewa. Ho'opua ke ao ia Lohiau ; 

O Lohiau — i lono oukou. 

Ola e ; ola la : ua ola Lohiau, e ! 

O Lohiau, ho'i, e! 

(a) A calabash, often covered with a net, vised by a fisherman to hold 
his spare hooks and lines and, by the traveler, his belongings. 



238 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

TRANSLATION 

I lived, but 'twas only my soul ; 

Then came Kahiki^s King and took me — 

The King who sails this purple and blue, 

An ocean, now black, now amber, 

The dark mottled sea of Kane, 

The sea that 'whelmed those monarchs of old, 

A sea that is ghostly, foreign, strange. 

Lohiau flowers anew in the sunlight; 

It is I, Lohiau ! Do you hear it ? 

New life has come to Lohiau! 

To Lohiau, aye, to Lohiau! 

Having come to himself, Lohiau sought his own. His chanc- 
ing at Kou and his appearance at the halau in which Pele-ula 
was holding her kilu performance, and on the very evening of 
Hiiaka's arrival, was an arrangement of converging lines that 
reflected great credit on the god of Destiny. 

Lohiau arrived at the kilu hall just in time to witness the open- 
ing of the game. Having seated himself quietly in the outskirts 
of the assembly, he begged a neighbor to permit him, as a favor, 
to conceal himself under the ample width of his kihei, exacting 
of him also the promise not to betray his retreat. Thus hidden, 
he could see without being seen. The sight of Hiiaka, the words 
of her song — he had heard them a score of times before — 
stirred within him a thousand memories. Without conscious 
effort of will, the words of his response sprang from his heart 
almost with the spontaneity of an antiphonal echo. Let us bring 
together the two cotyledons of this song: 

O ka wai mukiki a'ala lehua o ka manu, 

O ka awa ili lena i ka uka o Ka-li'u, 

O ka manu aha'i kau-laau o Puna : — 

Aia i ka laau ka awa o Puna. 

Mapu wale mai ana no ia'u kona aloha, 

Hoolana mai ana ia'u, e moe, e ; 

A e moe no, e-e-e. 

And now comes the unexpected antiphone by Lohiau : 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 239 

Puna, lehua ula i ka papa ; 

1 ula i ka papa ka lehua o Puna : 

Ke kui ia mai la e na wahine o ka Lua : 
Mai ka Lua a'u i hele mai nei, mai Kilauea. 
Aloha Kilauea, ka aina a ke aloha. 

TRANSLATION 

Nectar for gods, honeyed lehua; 
Food for the birds, bloom of lehua; 
Pang of love, the yellow-barked awa, 
Quaffed by the dryads in Puna's wilds ; 
Bitter the sweet of Puna's tree-awa. 
His love wafts hither to me from dreamland — 
The cry of the soul for love's fond touch; 
And who would forbid the soul's demand ! 

Antiphone 

Puna's plain takes the color of scarlet — 
Red as heart's blood the bloom of lehua. 
The nymphs of the Pit string hearts in a wreath : 
Oh the pangs of the Pit, Kilauea ! 
Still turns my heart to Kilauea. 

We must leave to the imagination of the reader the scene that 
occurred when Lohiau, the man twice called back from the dead, 
leaves his hiding place and comes into Hiiaka's encircling arms 
lovingly extended to him. 

Thus was accomplished the reunion of Hiiaka and Lohiau, and 
thus it came to pass that these two human streams of characters 
so different, in defiance of powerful influences that had long held 
them apart, were, at length, turned into one channel — that of 
the man, not wholly earthly, but leavened with the possibility of 
vast spiritual attainment under the tonic disciphne of affliction; 
that of the woman, self-reliant, resourceful, yet acutely in need of 
affection ; human and practical, yet feeling after the divine, con- 
scious of daily commerce with the skies ; and, yet, in spite of all, 
in bondage to that universal law which gives to the smaller and 
weaker body the power to introduce a perturbation into the orbit 
of the greater and to pull it away from its proper trajectory. 

The old order has passed away, the order in which the will of 



240 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Pele has ruled almost supreme, regardless of the younger, the 
human, race which is fast peopling the land that was hers in the 
making. Hitherto, surrounded by a cohort of willing servants 
ready at all times to sacrifice themselves to her caprice, — behold, 
a new spirit has leavened the whole mass, a spirit of dissent from 
the supreme selfishness of the Vulcan goddess, and the foremost 
dissident of them all is the obedient little sister who was first in 
her devotion to Pele, the warm-hearted girl whom we still love to 
call Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele. 



THE END 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 241 

INDEX OF FIRST LINES. 



A cat'spaw ruffles the Waianae sea: song by Hiiaka 161 

A gust of wind from the west: song by Hiiaka 175 

A hala bunch snatched by the wind : song by Hiiaka 68 

Ah ! — Aka, and you Kilioe : song by Hiiaka 136 

Aha, my will has snared the bird : song by Hiiaka 175 

A Hono-ma-ele au, i Hono-ka-lani : oli by Hiiaka 64 

Aia la, lele-iwi o Maka-hana-loa: oli by Hiiaka 189 

Aia no ke 'kua la i uka : oli by Hiiaka 166 

A ka lae ohi'a i Papa-lau-ahi: oli by Hiiaka. 10 

A Kd-lalau, a Ke-e : oli by Hiiaka 107 

A ka liki au i ka hala o Hanalei : oli by Lohiau 181 

A ka luna i Kilauea : pule by Hiiaka 148 

A ka luna i Pu'u-oniom: oli by Hiiaka 20 

Ako nanani maka i Wawae-noho, e: oli by Hiiaka 135 

A kulou anei, e uzve ana : oli by Hiiaka 179 

Alas, my man, alas : song by Hiiaka 133 

Alas, my woman, alas: song by Lohiau's wraith 132 

A Lima-loa i ke kaha: oli by Hiiaka 134 

Aloha ko'u hoa i ka ua pua-kukui: oli by Hiiaka 213 

Aloha na hale o makou i makamaka ole: oli by Lohiau. . . . 212 

Aloha, Oahu, e-el : travel song of Pele XIII 

Aloha Maui, aloha, e!: travel song of Pele. XV 

Aloha wale ka i'a lamalama o ku'u aina, la: oli by Mana 

mana-ia-kaluea 69 

Aloha wale ka nikiniki: oli by Lohiau. 181 

Aloha wale ka pali o Pi-na-na'i: oli by Mana-mana-ia-ka- 

luea 72 

A loko au Mahiki: incantation by Hiiaka 51 

A loko au Pana-ewa : oli by Hiiaka 24 

A luna au a Poha-kea : oli by Hiiaka 163 

A luna au o Poha-kea: oli by Hiiaka 164 

A luna i Wahine-kapu : pule by Hiiaka 140 

A luna au o Wai-pi'o : mele uhau by Hiiaka 50 

A makani Kua-mu lehua ko uka : oli by Hiiaka. 166 

A makani pahele — hala kou Maile-huna: oli by Lohiau. . . 175 

A makani pua ia lalo : oH by Hiiaka 175 

A Moolau, i ka pua o ka uhiuhi : 

Helele'i mai ana ka pua o Ko'o-ko'o-lau : kanaenae by Hiiaka 52 



242 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

A Mo'olau, i ka pua o ka uhiuhi, 

Pala luhi ehu iho la : Mele ho'uluulu by Hiiaka 53 

A noho ana : oli by Hiiaka 65 

Aole a' e nei ke kane : oli by Hiiaka 132 

Aole e make ku'u alii ia oe : oli by Waihinano 79 

A po Kaena i ka ehu o ke kai: oli by Wahine-oma'o 214 

A Pu'u-lena, i Wahine-kapu i pua, e : oli by Mana-mana-ia- 

kaluea 72 

A seething whirl of ocean-mist : song by Hiiaka 49 

As I journeyed above Wai-pi'o: battle-song by Hiiaka 50 

A standing wonder, Hilo cliffs : song by Hiiaka 29 

A storm and wild surf in the Pit : song by Hiiaka 203 

As trembles the plank at Wailuku : song by Hiiaka 74 

At last, my dear man, at last: song by Hiiaka 131 

Attend, O Uli ; a prayer this for life : prayer by Hiiaka .... 145 

At Wai-akea, in Hilo : song by Hiiaka 27 

A roar as of surf on the hill Moe-awa : paean by Hiiaka. . . 54 

Au ma ka hula-ana : oli by Hiiaka 48 

A Wai-akea, i ka Hilo-hana-kahi : oli by Hiiaka 27 

Awake now, awake, awake : song by Hiiaka 12 

A wind-squall drives the canoes in flight: song by Malae- 

ha'a-koa 110 

Ay, lonely, man-empty, indeed: song by Hiiaka 179 

Bethink you, I come from Puna: song by Hiiaka 172 

Bristling, frumpy, sits Hilo : song by Pele 6 

Come, enter, possess and inspire me : prayer by Hiiaka .... 142 

Come to your land to Kauai, ye hosts : song by Hiiaka 137 

Content you now with your god- work: song by Hiiaka. ... 12 

Cranky, cranky the bridge : song by Hiiaka 57 

Departments of the gods (note) 54 

Destruction and turmoil in the Pit : song by Paoa 226 

Down rushes the wind and sweeps along: song by Hiiaka. . 168 

E Aka, e Kilioe-i-ka-pua, e : oli by Hiiaka 136 

E ala, e ala, e ala : oli by Hiiaka 12 

E ala, e ala, e : oli by Paii-o-pala'e 46 

E Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, e : cry of the victims of the Mahiki 51 

Eia ana au, e Laka : pule by Hiiaka 142, 151 

E Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani ma, e : inprecation by Hiiaka ... 80 

E Kini, e hiki i Kauai, i kou aina : oli by Hiiaka 137 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 243 

E ku ana au e hele : oli by Hiiaka 16 

E ku'u kane, e : oli by Hiiaka 133 

E Lono, e Lona, e Lono-ku-lani: pule by Hiiaka 150 

E Maka-pu'u nui, kua ke au, e : oli by Maka-pu'u 87 

E nihi ka hele i ka uka o Puna : oli by Hiiaka 31 

E Pohaku o Kaua'i i kai, e : oli by Hiiaka 105 

E Puna-hoa i Kai-pala-oa : oli by Hiiaka 56 

E IVai-Junanano, wahine a ka po'ipo'i, e: oli by Hiiaka. ... 75 

Failed, failed in my choicest ambition: song by Lohiau. ... 176 

Famed Haupu, the mighty hill : song by Hiiaka 107 

Famous Ka-ula looms crystal clear : song by Hiiaka 136 

Farewell to thee, Maui, farewell ! : travel song of Pele XV 

Farewell to thee, Oahu: travel song of Pele XIV 

Firm plant the pillar, seal of our love-pact : song by Hiiaka 16 

Fixed my intent for the lover-quest: song by Hiiaka 16 

Fly, Lani-loa, fly in the calm : song by Hiiaka 97 

From the crest of Tremble Hill : song by Hiiaka 20 

From the forest tongue at Papa-lau-ahi : song by Hiiaka. . . 10 

From the Pit, doubtless, breathes Pu'u-lena : song by Hiiaka 1 1 

Front, bright as the moon: exclamation by Pele's women. . 192 

Give us of this water : song by Hiiaka 58 

Ha' a ka lau o ka i'a : oli by Mana-mana-ia-kaluea 70 

Have done with this fool-hardy swim : song by Hiiaka 48 

He ahui hala ko Kapo-ula-kina'u : oli by Hiiaka 67 

He ahui hala na ka makani : oli by Hiiaka 68 

Heed well your way in upland Puna : song by Hiiaka 31 

He makani holo uhd : oli by Hiiaka 187 

He makani Kai-a-ulu Mo o Waianae : oli by Hiiaka 161 

Here's a blast shall posset the blood : song by Hiiaka 187 

Here's food for me and mine : song by Pana-ewa 33 

Here stand I begirt for travel : song by Hiiaka 23 

Here stand I in stress, Laka: prayer by Hiiaka 143, 151 

He u'd kui lehua ko Pana-ewa : oli by Hiiaka 14 

His airy fantoms queer the eye: song by Hiiaka 135 

Ho, comrades from the sacred plateau: prayer by Hiiaka. . 141 

Holo Ka-ena, la : oli by Hiiaka 106 

Ho-maij ho'i, ka wai, e : oli by Hiiaka 58 

Hookuku ka au-hula-ana o ka pali: oli by Hiiaka 48 

Hot breath from the sea-sand waste : song by Hiiaka 185 



244 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

How dear the cliff of Pi-na-na'i: song by Mana-mana-ia- 

kaluea 72 

How dear the torch-caught fish of my home land : song by 

Mana-mana-ia-kaluea 69 

How precious the fillet that binds : song by Lohiau. 182 

Hui iho nei ka wa'a a Ka-moho-alii : travel song of Pele ... XI 

Hulihia ka Mauna : oli by Paoa 225 

Hulihia ka maima, wela i ke ahi: war-song of the gods 43 

Hulihia ka mauna, wela i ke ahi : oli by Lohiau 204 

Hulihia ke au, ka papa honua o kona moku: oli by Paoa. . . . 228 

Hulihia ke au, pe'a Halo i Akea : oli by Paoa 219 

Hulihia Kilauea, po i ka uuhi : oli by Hiiaka 197 

la ho'uluulu ia mai am : pule by Hiiaka 141 

/ Akani-hia : oli by Hiiaka 23 

la Ole-pau, ia ka Lani, ke Alii : oli by Waihinano, the sor- 
ceress 76 

I come from the land of Puna : song by Hiiaka 171 

I enter the land of Mahiki : incantation by Hiiaka 51 

I hail thee, Malae-ha'a-koa : song by Hiiaka 110 

/ i au, e au ma kai o ka hula ana : oli by Hiiaka 61 

I lived, but 'twas only my soul : song by Lohiau 238 

I neighbor the land of the wreath : song by Lohiau 181 

Ino Koolau, e, ino Koolau : oli by Hiiaka 90 

In Puna's famed thickets of hala : song by Lohiau 178 

In the heart of Pana-ewa : song by Hiiaka 25 

In the jungle of Mo'o-lau : rallying song by Hiiaka 53 

In the wilds of Mo'olau: rallying song by Hiiaka 52 

/ ola no au i ku'u kimo wailua : oli by Lohiau 237 

It sobs in the rain : song by Hiiaka 24 

I stand ahigh on Poha-kea : song by Hiiaka 165 

/ uka kaua i Moe-awakea : oli by Hiiaka 176 

I venture the cliffs of Ka-lalau : song by Lohiau 174 

I walk your stormy capes, Koolau : song by Hiiaka 88 

Ka-ala, dewy and forest-clad : song by Hiiaka. 100 

Kaena is darkened with sea-mist: song by Wahine-oma'o . . 215 

Kaena Point flies on its way : song by Hiiaka 102 

Ka-ena speeds along : song by Hiiaka 106 

Kaena's profile fleets through the calm: song by Hiiaka. ... 158 

Ka-ena, salty and barren : song by Hiiaka 104 

Kahuli-huli, e-e : oli by Hiiaka 57 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 245 

Kaiko'o Pu'u-moe-awa, wawd ka laau : paean by Hiiaka ... 54 

Kalaku Hilo i ka ua nui : oli by Pele 6 

Ka-moho-alii turned his canoe : travel song by Pele XII 

Kane-hoa lifts to the sky : song by Hiiaka 91 

Kane-lau-apua — avatar of Kane (note) 194 

Kauhi, thou watch-tower of heaven : song by Hiiaka 93 

Ka-ula's enwreathed by the ocean : song by Lohiau 177 

Kaiimaha ka at o Hilo i ka lehua : oli by Hiiaka 59 

Kauwiki, famous in story : song by Hiiaka 66 

Ka wai mukiki ale lehua a ka manu : oli by Hiiaka 30 

Ke ahi maka-pa i ka la, e : oli by Hiiaka 186 

Ke a'ina mai la e ka wai : oli by Hiiaka 98 

Ke ha' a la Puna i ka makani : oli by Hiiaka 1 

Ke hanai a'e la ka ua 'i ka lani : oli by Hiiaka 17 

Ke hele la ka au-hula-ana o Ka-lalau: oli by Lohiau 174 

Ke hooulu au, e Kane-kapolei, i mua : pule by Hiiaka 149 

Ke iho la ka makani : oli by Hiiaka 168 

Ke kakulihuli a ka papa o Wailuku : oli by Hiiaka 74 

Ke kau aloha wale mai la ka ua, e-e : oli by Hiiaka 18 

Ke ku nei au e hele : oli by Hiiaka 18 

Ke ku nei au e hele, a noho oe : oli by Hiiaka 22 

Ke ku nei makou e imi kahi e noho ai: travel song of Pele. . XII 

Kela pae opua i ka lani, e : oli by Hiiaka 36 

Ke lei mai la Ka-ula i ke kai, e : oli by Lohiau 177 

Ke uwa. ia mai la e ka ua : oli by Hiiaka 24 

Ki'eki'e Kane-hoa-lani : oli by Hiiaka 91 

Kilauea breaks forth : smoke blurs the day : song by Hiiaka 199 

Kindly falls the rain from heaven : song by Hiiaka 18 

Kinsmen, allies, travel-mates : song by Hiiaka 65 

Komo i ka nahele ulu hinalo : oli by Hiiaka 97 

Kua loloa Kedau i ka nahele hala : oli by Hiiaka 34 

Kua-mu pays toll to the forest : song by Hiiaka 166 

Kui na apiki lei hele : oli by Hiiaka 84 

Kui na ohi'a hele i ke kaha, e : oli by Hiiaka 83 

Ku kila ke kaunu moe ipo : oli by Hiiaka 16 

Kukulu ka makia a ka huaka'i hele moe ipo : oli by Hiiaka. . 15 

Kuli'a, e Uli, ka pule kala ma ola : pule by Pau-o-pala's .... 37 

Kulia, e Uli : pule by Hiiaka 144 

Kulia, e Uli, ka pule kanaenae ola : pule by Hiiaka 146 

Kulia ke kahuna i-mmi : pule by Hiiaka 138 

Ku makou e hele me ku'u mau poki'i aloha : travel song of 

Pele X 



246 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ku-mauna, a rain god (note) 211 

Ku'u aikane i ke awa lau o Pu'uloa : oli by Hiiaka 167 

Ku'u akua i ka hale hau : oli by Hiiaka 96 

Ku'u hoa i ka Hi hau o Mank : oli by Lohiau 180 

Ku'u hoa i ke kawelu oho o Malae-lua : oli by Lohiau 180 

Kunihi Kaena, holo i ka malie : oli by Hiiaka 157 

Kunihi ka mauna i ka la'i, e : oli by Hiiaka 109 

Kupit maikai a'e la : oli by Noho-a-mo'o 59 

Ku'u kane i ka makani hau alia : oli by Hiiaka 185 

Ku^u kane i ka pali kauhuhu : oli by Hiiaka 86 

Ku'u kane i ka makani Kilihau, Kiliopu: oli by Hiiaka 133 

Ku'u kane i ka pali o Haena : oli by Hiiaka 131 

Ku'u wahine, e : oli by Lohiau's wraith 132 

Lele ana o Ka-ena : oli by Hiiaka 100 

Lele Lani-loa, ua malie : oli by Hiiaka 97 

Let the drum, tho torn, snarl out the law : inset to song. . . . 121 

Let us sound it aloud : song by Hiiaka 23 

Like a cloud you fleet by : song by Pau-o-pala'e 65 

Lilo i Puna, lilo i Puna : oli by Hiiaka 55 

Little fish with wicked eye: song by Mana-mana-ia-Kaluea . 71 

Liu' a ke kaha o Ka-ena, wela i ka La : oli by Hiiaka 103 

Long is the reach of Keaau's palms : song by Hiiaka 34 

Lu'ulu'u Hanalei i ka ua nwi : oli by Pele 5 

Mahina ke alo : exclamation by Pele's women 192 

Mai Puna au, e, mai Puna : oli by Hiiaka 171 

Mai Puna au, e, mai Puna au : oli by Hiiaka 172 

Makalii lua ka La ia Ka-wai-hoa: Hawaiian song 210 

Maka-pu'u dwells at the Cape : song by Hiiaka 87 

Malei, a female kupua (note) 88 

Mana, thou land of the godHng host : song by Hiiaka 159 

Man faints if he travels till night-fall: song by Hiiaka. ... 89 

Mate mine through grassy meads, awave: song by Lohiau 180 

Mau a'alina oe mauka o Ka-la-ke-ahi: oli by Paoa 217 

Mehameha, kanaka ole, ka ho'i: oli by Hiiaka 179 

Me he uahi mahu, la : oli by Hiiaka 49 

Moe e no Wai-alua ke Koolau :oli by Lohiau 182 

My fish are adance on the waves: song by Mana-mana-ia 

kaluea 70 

My foot still shod for travel : song by Hiiaka 19 

My god of the chilly mansion : song by Hiiaka 96 

My heart beats high at your venture : song by Hiiaka 62 



Pele and Hiiaka-^A Myth 247 

My lord shall succumb not to you : counter-charm by Wai- 

hinano 79 

My love to the homes made desolate : swan-song by Lohiau 212 

My love to thee, mate of the sifting rain : song by Hiiaka. . 213 

My man of the wind-driven mist: song by Hiiaka 133 

Nani ku a ka Hilo pali-ku : oli by Hiiaka 29 

Nectar for gods, honeyed lehua : song by Hiiaka 239 

Noho ana Maka-pu'u i ka lae : oli by Hiiaka 87 

No ka Lua paha ia makani, o ka Pu'u-lena: oli by Hiiaka. . 10 

No luna ka hala, e: oli by Mana-mana-ia-kaluea 71 

O bird that sips with delight : song by Hiiaka 14 

O Daughter of heaven : serenade by Pau-o-pala'e 47 

O fellow mine on the stair-like cliff: song by Hiiaka 87 

Off the coast of Lalau, off Ke-e : song by Hiiaka 107 

Of Pele, her warfare in Kahiki : song by Malae-ha'a-koa and 

wife 124 

O Haupu, mawna ki'eki'e : oli by Hiiaka 107 

O Haupu, mauna kilohana : oli by Lohiau 183 

O hele ana oe, e ka noe, e ka awa : oli by Pau-o-pala'e 65 

O Hiiaka ka wahine : oli by Hiiaka 191 

O Hiiaka-of-Pele's-heart : cry of the victims of the Mahiki 51 

O honey-dew sipped by the bird : song by Hiiaka 31 

O hookb ia aku oe : oli by Hiiaka 11 

Oh Maka-pu'u, the famous : song about Maka-pu'u 88 

O Ka-ala, kuahiwi mauna kehau : oli by Hiiaka 100 

O ka eha a ke aloha ke lalawe nei ; oli by Lohiau 178 

O ka i'a iki maka inoino : oli by Mana-mana-ia-kaluea 70 

O Ka-lalau, pali a'ala ho'i, e : oli by Hiiaka 1 59 

O ka leo o ke kanaka hookahi, mailuna mai: oli by Pele. ... 42 

O ka manu mukimuki : oli by Hiiaka 14 

O kaua a Pele i hakd i Kahiki: oli by Malae-ha'a-koa and 

wife 112 

O Kau-akahi-ma-hiku-lani : imprecation by Hiiaka 81 

O Kauhi ke i-maka-o-ka-lani : oli by Hiiaka 92 

O Ka-ula nui ka i akaka : oli by Hiiaka 135 

O Kauwiki, mauna ki'eki'e : oli by Hiiaka 66 

O ka wai mukiki a'ala lehua o ka manu : oli by Hiiaka 238 

O kukulu ka pahu a ka leo hokiki kanawai : inset to oli .... . 121 

O ku, o ka o Wahine-oma'o : oli by Wahine-oma'o 184 

O ku'u manawa na'e ka i hei i ka moe : oli by Hiiaka 175 



248 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Ola ia kini! ke a mai la ke ahi, e-e : oli by Pana-ewa 32 

O Lono, O Lono, God Lono on high: prayer by Hiiaka 150 

O Malae-ha'a-koa, lawaia o ka pali: oH by Hiiaka 110 

O Mana, aina a ke Akua, e-e : oU by Hiiaka 159 

O maw a'alina oe : oli by Paoa 218 

One's strength is exhausted, climbing, cUmbing: song by 

Hiiaka 32 

On the heights about Kilauea : prayer by Hiiaka 148 

On the heights of Poha-kea : song by Hiiaka 163 

Ooe ia, e ka wahine ai laait o Puna) oH by Malae-ha'a-koa 111 

O Pana-eiva, ohi'a loloa : oH by Hiiaka 33 

O Pele la ko'u akua : oH by Kauhi ke i-maka-o-ka-lani .... 93 

O Puna-hoa and Kai-pala-oa : song by Hiiaka 56 

O Puna kai kuwd i ka hala : oH by Hiiaka 2 

O Puna, lehua ula i ka papa : oH by Lohiau 239 

O Puna nahele ulu hala o Kalukalu: oH by Lohiau 178 

O sea-planted Rock of Kaua'i : song by Hiiaka 105 

O Waialua, kai leo nui : oli by Hiiaka 99 

O Wai-alua, la'i eha, e : oli by Hiiaka. 99 

O Waihinano, thou soul-grabber : song by Hiiaka 76 

Owau e hele i na lae ino o Koolau : oli by Hiiaka. 88 

Pa mai ka makani o ka lele wa'a, e\ oli by Malae-ha'a-koa 110 

Pana-ewa, a tall ohi'a : song by Hiiaka 33 

Pana-ewa's rain beats down the lehuas : song by Hiiaka. ... 14 

Pau ke aho i ke kahawai lau o Hilo : oli by Hiiaka 32 

Pau Puna, ua koele ka papa : pule by Lohiau: 208 

Pele indeed is my good : song by Kauhi ke i-maka-o-ka-lani 95 

Pohaku o Kaua'i (note) 104 

Popo'i, haki kaiko'o ka Iwa : oli by Hiiaka 202 

Popo ke kapa o ka wahine : oli of the ghost-god Hina-hina- 

ku-i-ka-pali 61 

Po Puna i ka uwahi ku'i maka lehua : oli by Hiiaka 170 

Provide you a bundle of wreaths : song by Hiiaka 84 

Provide you wreaths of ohi'a : song by Hiiaka 83 

Puanaiea ke kanaka : oli by Hiiaka 89 

Ptika mai ka Wahine mai loko mai o ka Lua : oli by Hiiaka 194 

Puna is ravaged, its levels fire-baked: prayer by Lohiau. . . 209 

Puna's a-dance in the breeze : song by Hiiaka 2 

Puna's day is turned into night : song by Hiiaka 171 

Puna's plain takes the color of scarlet : song by Lohiau 239 

Punohounohu i ka lani : oli by Hiiaka 21 



Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 249 

Pu'u-lena breathes a fiirnace blast: prayer by Lohiau . . 193 

Rough weather at Hono-kohau: song by Mana-mana-ia- 

kaluea 70 

Scattered through Puna, scattered through Puna: song by 

Hiiaka 55 

See the cape that's a funeral pyre : song by Hiiaka 190 

She has grown a fine figure : song by Noho-a-mo'o 60 

Speed, O Uli, this prayer for health: prayer by Hiiaka. . . . 147 

Stand in the breach, O Uli : prayer by Paw-o-pala'e 40 

Stand to the fore, O Priest; shrink not: prayer by Hiiaka. . 139 

The clustered hala is Kapo's shield : song by Hiiaka 67 

The deed this of Lima-loa : song of Hiiaka 134 

The Aim and the flam : song by Wahine-oma'o 184 

The fire-split rocks bombard the sun : song by Hiiaka 186 

The god is at work in the hills : song by Hiiaka 166 

The hala, tossed down from the cliff : song by Mana-mana- 

ia-kaluea 71 

The land of Wahine-kapu : song by Mana-mana-ia-kaluea . . 12 

The lily tufts of Ihu-koko : song by Hiiaka 98 

The mountain turns the cold shoulder: song by Hiiaka. . . . 109 
The mount is convulsed, it belches flame: war-song of the 

gods 44 

The Mount is convulsed ; the surging fire : song by Lohiau 206 

The neck of Hilo is heavy : song by Hiiaka 59 

The pit-smoke blankets the heavens : song by Hiiaka. ..... 21 

The rain doth replenish the heavens : song by Hiiaka 17 

There's turmoil and heaving of strata : song by Paoa 231 

The sentence of death is affirmed : song by Hiiaka 17 

The smart of love o'erwhelms me : song by Lohiau 178 

The stars are on fire, and the moon : song by Lohiau 211 

The upland lehua is clinker-heaped: song by Hiiaka 108 

The voice from above of a man supreme: song by Pele. ... 43 

The voice of Puna's sea resounds : song by Hiiaka 2 

The volant breath of the maile : song by Lohiau 176 

The world is convulsed ; the earth-plates sink 223 

The Woman comes forth from the Pit: song by Hiiaka 196 

The women bundle their garments : song by the ghost-god 61 

This, surely, is not the lover : song by Hiiaka 132 

Thou art she, O tree-eater of Puna : song by Malae-ha'a-koa 111 



250 Pele and Hiiaka — A Myth 

Thou bundle of scars from a fiery day : song by Paoa 217 

Thou mount of enchantment, Haupu: song by Lohiau. . . . 183 

Tight-pressed is Hanalei's throng : song by Pele 5 

To Ole-pau, the heavenly, the King: song by Waihinano, 

the sorceress T7 

To swim this tossing sea : song by Hiiaka 48 

To the temple, its healing rite : prayer by Hiiaka 150 

Two rivers that chafe their banks : song by Lohiau 183 

'Twas maid Hiiaka plucked the bloom: song by Hiiaka 191 

Ua ino Hono-kohau; he Ulu-au nui ka makani : oli by Mana- 

mana-ia-kaluea . . 69 

Ua make ia : oli by Hiiaka 77 

Ua pu'e ia e ke one ka lehua o uka : oli by Hiiaka 108 

Ua ivela Pu'-lena i ke ahi : pule by Lohiau 193 

Unstable the bridge : song by Hiiaka 58 

Vile, vile is the Koolau weather : song by Hiiaka 90 

Wai-alua has a fourfold charm : song by Hiiaka 99 

Wai-alua, land of the sounding sea : song by Hiiaka 99 

We enter the fragrant groves : song by Hiiaka 98 

Wehe'a iho nei loko o ka moe : oh by Lohiau 176 

Wela ka hoku, ka Maldma : oli by Lohiau 210 

We meet at Ewa's leaf-shaped lagoon, friend: song by 

Hiiaka 167 

We stood to sail with my kindred beloved: travel song of 

Pele .... XI 

We went to look for a biding place: travel song of Pele XHI 

While I stand ready for travel : song by Hiiaka 17 

Will the orphan now hang his head : song by Hiiaka 179 

With pillowed neck I lay, face to heaven : song by Hiiaka . . 64 

Wondrous small looks the Sun o'er Waihoa 210 

Yoke- fellow in toil at Mana : song by Lohiau 180 

Yon group of god-forms, that float : song by Hiiaka 36 

Your verdant walls, Lalau : song by Hiiaka 1 59 

You shall bed with me in open day : song by Hiiaka 176 

You've encased him tight in a lava shell : song by Paoa 219 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
N. B. EMERSON ----- Frontispiece ^ 

THE CRATER OF KILAUEA ----- By R. K. Bonine - 1*^' 

HALEMAUMAU— THE LAKE OF FIRE - - - By R. W. Perkins - 97 ^ 

THE CLIFFS OF KALALAU - - - - - - By R. J. Baker - 144 *^ 

THE DESCENT FROM THE CLIFFS - - - By J. M. Eraser - 160 ^ 

THE GOD IS AT WORK IN THE HILLS - By A. W. Emerson - 176 '^ 



